Maryland women’s soccer coach Ray Leone wants his team to defend opposing offensive threats the same way NBA teams defend the reigning MVP. He wants his defense to get as close to the forward or midfielder as possible, especially in the box.
Leone has stressed that mentality since the beginning of fall practices, but it’s taken time for a team that features 14 new players to become aggressive collectively. The Terps executed that style of play in Thursday’s 3-1 win against Illinois but gave Northwestern players too much room near the net in their 4-1 loss Sunday.
“It’s like trying to defend Stephen Curry,” Leone said. “You can’t defend him from a mile away. You better be right on him, and even then he’s going to make it. We’re too far away from the key player who has the ball.”
Maryland twice left a Wildcats midfielder uncovered in its three-goal defeat, and both times, No. 21 Northwestern took advantage.
In the 17th minute, Wildcats midfielder Kassidy Gorman stood alone in the box — the closest Maryland defender several feet away — and knocked home a goal to double Northwestern’s early lead. Then, in the 40th minute, Wildcats midfielder Maria Grygleski stood uncovered on the left side of the box. She spent a brief second lining the up the ball before depositing it into the lower-left side of the net. Before halftime, Northwestern had a three-goal advantage.
“We have to work on matching up in the box when they have services from out wide,” defender Jlon Flippens said. “It’s just miscommunication and not being alert. We need our midfielders to drop in. We had our forwards matched up.”
Leone isn’t only concerned with helping each Maryland defender become more aggressive. He wants each player to recognize the situation during which it would be appropriate to kick the ball out of bounds, which awards the opposing team a corner kick.
Maryland allowed Illinois to take 10 corner kicks, but the Fighting Illini weren’t able to capitalize on any of those opportunities. Northwestern took six corners Sunday, and midfielder Marisa Viggiano’s attempt in the third minute bounced into the lower-left corner of the net for the Wildcats’ first score of the afternoon.
“It comes on the practice field, but we have to continue to work on corner kicks defensively,” goalkeeper Katelyn Jensen said. “I think that’s going to be a big thing, making sure we stay on our marks. We need to step to the ball when they’re shooting to block shots, as many shots as possible.”
After Flippens scored Maryland’s lone goal during the 61st minute, Leone was particularly disappointed with the Terps defense. The unit allowed three corner kicks after the score, one of which helped Northwestern defender Kayla Sharples notch the Wildcats’ fourth goal in the 79th minute.
“There was still a lot of time left,” Leone said. “We were giving them corners unnecessarily. The player that’s on the ball isn’t even threatening, and we’re kicking the ball out of bounds. We have to improve on that. You can train on how not to give it up so quickly.”
As Maryland watches film of its second Big Ten loss, Leone plans to compare the Terps defense to how opposing defenses guard Curry. The differences are clear, he said.
“We’re backing up when it’s a key moment for them to hit a key ball,” Leone said. “You have to get closer. We need to concentrate on possession. That’s what was the poorest.”
