With the score knotted at zero, and just over two minutes to play in regulation Saturday, Terrapin women’s soccer midfielder Molly Dreska weaved through the Towson backline, juked a defender and shot what could have been a game-winning goal.

Unfortunately for Dreska and the Terps, the one defender she couldn’t get past was the left post, which rejected her shot, leaving another prime scoring opportunity by the wayside.

That’s how the day went as the Terps finished with a 0-0 tie against Towson for the second straight season. But just as they followed last year’s disappointing draw with an impressive blowout against Rhode Island, they did the same in even more impressive fashion against the UMBC Retrievers yesterday.

“It’s a little frustrating, but you just have to be confident that [scoring] will come, and if we keep making these chances happening, we’ll get one,” junior Kelly Rozumalski said after the tie to Towson. Exceeding the forward’s expectations, the Terps got a bunch of goals and shut out the Retrievers 6-0 yesterday afternoon at Ludwig Field.

Less than three minutes into the game, the Terps got out of their offensive funk, with a goal from senior Sarah Sample on the right wing. Within the next five minutes, the Terps scored two more goals.

First, Rozumalski, who had 10 shots in the Towson match, put one past Retriever goaltender Catie Bukowski for her first goal of the year. Then, a minute and a half later, Sample made a lead pass into the box to Melissa Hornfeck, who staved off a defender and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper for her first of two goals.

“We talked at halftime, when you’re playing the game of soccer, you are playing against your opponent, but you are also playing against the game,” coach Brian Pensky said. “Sometimes the game can be very fair and sometimes the game can be very unfair. Saturday against Towson we had 30 shots and no goals, but today our first three shots were goals.”

After making her first start of the season on Saturday against Towson, freshman Emily Maynard was back on the bench for the first quarter of the game, but she didn’t take long to make her presence felt when she finally got on the field.

Just a minute after entering into the game, Maynard found herself on an open break with Rozumalski who left the ball for the freshman to score her first Ludwig Field goal.

Entering the half with a 4-0 lead, the Terps had little to worry about for the second half, as Pensky emptied his bench and got all of his players into the game. Even with the substitutes in, it was a similar story in the second half, as the Terps controlled the ball and limited the Retrievers’ touches in the offensive zone.

Five minutes after intermission, Hornfeck, who was a regular scorer at Monroe Community College the last two years, put another goal into the back of the net.

To officially close the book on the overwhelmed Retrievers, with just over five minutes to play in the game, Lauren Gamble pelted a deep shot outside the box for the sixth and final goal of the afternoon.

The tie with Towson pushed the Terps out of the rankings, where they previously held the No. 25 spot, but the blowout win against the Retrievers showed that the Terps still belong on that rankings bubble.

“We all just had to resolve today, we knew we needed to get goals into the back of the net, and we did,” Sample, one of the offensive stars of the game, said. “Once we get those visuals of scoring goals, and see what the buildup to scoring a goal looks like, we know we can do it, and it gives us more confidence to score.”

Contact reporter Mark Selig at mseligdbk@gmail.com.