Maryland Women’s Soccer Team runs out on to the pitch during Maryland’s 0-1 loss to University of Michigan on 9/19/2014 at Ludwig Field
In its conference opener against then-No. 25 Rutgers on Sept. 12, the Terps women’s soccer team scored two first-half goals and held the Scarlet Knights scoreless in an upset victory.
But when the Terps played Michigan and Michigan State this weekend, they failed to build on the momentum they gained from upending the Scarlet Knights. They ended the weekend with one loss, one tie and no goals, despite taking 28 shots.
“Just the weekend — Friday and today — I felt like a tie would have really been fair on Friday night, the way the performance went,” coach Jonathan Morgan said after yesterday’s scoreless draw with the Spartans. “And I thought today, we probably deserved a result.”
In a 1-0 loss to the Wolverines (7-3-0, 3-1-0) on Friday night, the Terps midfielders had trouble keeping possession against the Michigan pressure. And with the midfielders having to adapt to that style of play, the Terps struggled to push the ball up to their forwards.
The Terps managed just two shots on goal compared with the Wolverines’ four. Even so, defender Erika Nelson had a prime opportunity to net the equalizer in the waning minutes of the Terps’ loss.
Off a corner kick from defender Shannon Collins, Nelson struck a header toward the net. And though goalkeeper Megan Hinz wasn’t in position to make the save, defender Niki Wilkinson, who was standing just in front of the end line, booted Nelson’s shot away.
“We got a free look at the goal, and Erika Nelson, in training, is typically burying that, so she has to bury it in competition,” Morgan said. “That’s a great service by Shannon, Nelly is exactly where she needs to be, but she just made contact instead of attacking it.”
Aside from Nelson’s try, the Terps were stagnant offensively. And in the first half of their match with Michigan State (6-3-1, 0-3-1) yesterday, the Terps attack was again unable to create scoring opportunities.
The Terps didn’t attempt a shot on goal and took five shots overall in the opening 45 minutes. Morgan said the Spartans’ style of play, which was similar to the Wolverines, made it difficult for the Terps to find space and keep hold of the ball in the midfield.
“Our midfield has been pretty good, and now people are saying in order to deal with that, you have to man-mark Maryland in the midfield,” Morgan said. “That’s the scout on us, and so we have to keep getting better in there and being able to handle that man-marking in the midfield.”
But in the second frame, the Terps put more pressure on the Spartans defense and challenged goalkeeper Courtney Clem. Five different players combined for six shots on net in that span.
The Terps, though, were unable to finish at net. After failing to convert through 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods, the Terps (3-3-2, 1-1-1) settled for a scoreless draw — their first since Aug. 19, 2012, against Villanova.
“I think we were giving them challenges up top, and we made a lot of chances,” midfielder Cory Ryan said. “We came close, but couldn’t put it in the net.”
Since forward Natasha Ntone-Kouo scored late in the first half against the Scarlet Knights in the Big Ten opener, the Terps haven’t punched in a goal in 245 minutes. They’ll hope to fix their scoring issues before Thursday’s game at Iowa, which sits atop the conference standings with a 3-0 record.
“Our possession has been getting better and better, and then obviously we started to create some stuff today,” Morgan said. “So we got to get that last piece. They say it’s the hardest part of the game, and right now it feels like it is.”
