Madison Turner waved her right hand in the air. The Maryland women’s soccer forward beat a pair of Penn State defenders and had an open look at the net. She demanded the ball from forward Chelsea Jackson.
Jackson connected with Turner in the second minute, and though the pass came late, Turner had only Nittany Lions goalkeeper Amanda Dennis to beat. But as she drove toward the goal, Turner attempted to run around Dennis. Her feet got tangled up with Dennis’, and Maryland’s best offensive opportunity was squandered.
The Terps, who attempted just four shots compared to No. 13 Penn State’s 21, were shut out for the fourth time this season in their 3-0 home loss Sunday afternoon. Maryland’s scoreless drought now sits at 192 minutes.
“They were missing opportunities today,” coach Ray Leone said. “They had not a lot of chances, but they’re turning down chances they didn’t realize [were there]. The moment was there but we have to play a little bit quicker.”
Led by forwards Chelsea Jackson and Jarena Harmon, Maryland’s attack recorded at least one score in each of its first four games. It took Maryland 10 games to score as many goals as it did last season. But against the Nittany Lions, who entered the contest having allowed three goals in their past six games, Maryland had difficulty creating scoring chances after Turner’s early opportunity. The Terps were outshot 14-1 entering the intermission.
“A lot of it’s just patience,” Harmon said. “Knowing that we’re gonna get there [and] that we have what it takes. Just keep moving forward. You can’t look back.”
On defense, Turner and Leone emphasized the importance of Maryland’s defense remaining aggressive following Thursday’s 4-0 loss to Ohio State.
The unit played with that style for almost the entire first half, forcing Penn State to take corner kicks instead of giving the opposition open shots at the net.
But the Terps’ defense on corner kicks faltered, allowing the Nittany Lions to score all three goals in those situations.
Penn State defender Brittany Basinger headed midfielder Nickolette Driesse’s corner kick into the net in the 12th minute. In the 60th minute, the pair connected again on another corner to double the Nittany Lions’ lead.
Defender Elizabeth Ball’s score in the 84th minute also came off of a corner attempt.
“Obviously, three goals off corner kicks is not ideal,” midfielder Hope Gouterman said. “We have to learn from it and be a little more compact in there. You’re going to give up a few corner kicks. It’s a matter of how you handle them.”
While Penn State capitalized on three of its four corner kicks, Maryland’s offense remained stagnant. The Terps took only three shots in the second, one of which was Harmon’s attempt that bounced off the right post in the 80th minute.
“We have to get our attitude right,” Leone said. “That’s been a focus, because we’ve let up so many goals. We’ve spent too much time worrying about keeping people out of the net. We have to get back to scoring goals and seizing those moments.”
CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story incorrectly stated in the headline and in the article that Penn State scored twice off corner kicks. The Nittany Lions scored all three of their goals off corners. The story has been updated to reflect these corrections.
