After being shut out for 230 straight minutes, the Terrapin women’s soccer team finally scored a goal Monday against the UMBC Retrievers. Once it got one on the board, the net seemed to widen for it, as it made five more goals for an assertive victory.

Last year, the Terps followed a disappointing tie against Towson with a dominant win in their next game, just as they did this past weekend.

The Terps hope the two seasons’ parallels stop right there. The Terps scored just two goals in their next seven games (1-5-1) combined last year.

Monday against UMBC, the Terps showed the relentless type of attack they need to have if they hope to put goals on the scoreboard against the ACC and tough out-of-conference opponents.

Although they were playing a Retriever team that has a struggling and banged-up defense, the Terps showed continued aggression in the offensive zone and never stopped running at full speed during the 6-0 win.

“I think we take the confidence that we got from this game, because if we believe we can score goals, they will come,” senior Sarah Sample said. “UMBC is an OK team, but we’re going to play against some really tough opponents, and we need to know that we can score some goals against them, too.”

The team has some new dangerous options that can prevent it from going down the same offensive route as last year, when it was the worst scoring team in its conference.

Freshman Molly Dreska has been starting at forward and has created scoring options for the Terps throughout the early games. First-year player Emily Maynard has been a super-sub, providing endless energy for the team in the offensive zone.

Aside from the contributing freshmen, junior transfer Melissa Hornfeck finally showed she can add to the team’s scoring with two goals and an assist against the Retrievers.

“She’s very talented, and she has a special left foot,” coach Brian Pensky said of Hornfeck. “The one thing holding Melissa back is herself. Hopefully the two goals today are an injection of confidence.”

Hornfeck was a dynamic scorer at Monroe Community College where she won JUCO player of the year her freshman and sophomore seasons. Monday afternoon, Hornfeck looked like the player she was before joining the Terps.

“[Scoring my first goal] was amazing,” Hornfeck said after the game against UMBC. “I’m so excited now. Somehow I just have to keep it going. I saw the game a little differently today.”

Last year the Terps depended on senior Mallory Mahar to be the main source of offense, so her early season injury was a huge setback. With eight different players scoring a point against UMBC, this year’s Terps showed they have many players with the potential to be a factor on offense.

“We haven’t had a prominent goal-scorer, so we’re going to depend on a lot of different sources as goal-scorers,” Pensky said. “Hopefully we can get a bunch of kids on the scoreboard contributing.”

After having 56 shots in their past two games, it’s hard to believe that if the Terps keep that pace up, some of them won’t land in the net.

Contact reporter Mark Selig at mselig@gmail.com.