For the second time in three days, the Maryland women’s soccer team watched its opponent fall to the ground in celebration.
Friday, it was No. 25 Pepperdine celebrating an overtime win that came off a converted free kick at Ludwig Field. Sunday afternoon, the Terps looked on as Appalachian State rejoiced after forward Jane Cline’s shot off the crossbar landed in the net in the 83rd minute and lifted the Mountaineers to a 2-1 win.
After the ball deflected off several Mountaineers, Cline tapped the ball into the net from the left side to give her team a late lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Coach Ray Leone said he was confident Maryland would use Friday’s loss “as fuel” entering the matchup with the Mountaineers. For most of the first half, the Terps did.
Despite Appalachian State taking three shots in the first 10 minutes, Maryland’s defense shut out the Mountaineers in the opening period.
In the 23rd minute, with most Mountaineers defenders on the opposite side of the box, forward Chelsea Jackson spun away from a defender on the left side and took a shot that landed in the lower-left corner of the net.
Maryland, which was outshot, 11-5, entered the intermission with a one-goal advantage.
In the second half, even with Cline and forward Erin Settle sidelined for much of the period, the Terps struggled to generate offense. The Mountaineers capitalized as Settle scored on a left-footed attempt to tie the game in the 56th minute.
With Cline and Settle back in the game in the final minutes, and Maryland’s leading scorer Jarena Harmon sidelined — she suffered an injury with about 30 minutes remaining in regulation — the Mountaineers took the lead on Cline’s strike.
Leone replaced Rachel Egyed, who started the second half and allowed both Appalachian State goals, with Katelyn Jensen for the final minutes of the game.
Jensen kept the Mountaineers off the board, but Maryland couldn’t net the equalizer. The Terps were outshot 19-11 and attempted only four shots on goal.
