Before the start of the season, it seemed unthinkable, laughable even. Then, it seemed only unlikely.

But after Sunday’s loss at Miami, the Terrapins women’s soccer team finds itself presented with the precarious possibility of missing the ACC Tournament.

If the season were to end today, the No. 16 Terps would finish in sixth place in the ACC with 11 points, a spot that is safely in the eight-team field.

But the Terps’ remaining schedule, combined with their fellow ACC teams’ schedules, could put them in a position to finish in ninth place and miss the ACC Tournament entirely. And history hasn’t treated the team left on the outside looking in all that well. In the past five years, the ninth-place finisher in the ACC has never made the NCAA Tournament.

“Mathematically, we haven’t clinched a spot in the tournament, so some odd things would have to happen in terms of results and we’d have to lose out, but certainly, that’s a possibility,” coach Brian Pensky said yesterday. “I think we let an opportunity get away yesterday. It was disappointing. Now there’s kind of a logjam in the No. 6 through 9 spots. That makes our game at Duke [on Sunday] and our final home game against Carolina all the more important.”

The easiest way for the Terps to avoid this scenario is, simply, to win. One victory would put the Terps in a more comfortable position, as the three points earned would boost them in the standings. That task, however, won’t be easy: Their final two opponents on the schedule are the No. 3 Blue Devils and No. 10 Tar Heels. Under Pensky, the Terps are a combined 2-7-3 against the conference rivals.

“I thought we’ve played well lately, and our kids should be able to hang their hats on that,” Pensky said. “We’ve got tall, tall challenges ahead in Duke and Carolina. Our team has enough confidence going into both those games that we can get results.”

The Terps have played ranked teams tough this year, compiling a 2-2-2 record against top-25 teams, but the team’s win at No. 11 Florida State on Oct. 13 was its first win against a ranked opponent since the season opener, a 1-0 win over then-No. 22 Minnesota, which is now unranked.

In games against top-five teams, the Terps are 0-0-2, with scoreless ties against No. 1 Stanford and No. 4 Wake Forest. And while they’ve been content to pick up one point in the past from ties, they know the three points from a win are much needed.

“We’re playing good soccer right now,” Pensky said. “Once we do get to ACC play, and I’m confident we’re going to get there, and once we get to NCAA Tournament play, I feel like, with this team, we can beat anybody. I really do. In the last nine games, since we hit ACC play, we’ve had some bumps, but that’s OK. I like to think and to hope that it’s making us stronger and it doesn’t affect our ability to believe in ourselves.”

Before the Terps’ 2-1 loss at Miami on Sunday, the top eight teams in the ACC had a small cushion from the bottom three teams in the conference. But Miami’s win moved the Hurricanes into a tie for seventh place with Virginia Tech, and only three points separate five teams for the final four spots in the tournament field.

“Honestly, we didn’t talk about it last night,” Pensky said. “We were just caught up traveling. Certainly, from where we are from a desperation standpoint, it’s certainly going to be addressed and discussed.”

The Terps have a week between games to help them recover from an arduous road trip to Florida and get ready for their remaining games — a stretch Pensky is confident will include the ACC Tournament.

“This week off will do them some good, no question,” Pensky said. “We’re going to give certain individuals, two, three, four days of rest going into what we hope is a Sunday game at Duke, then a Thursday game with North Carolina and a first-round ACC Tournament game on [Oct.] 30th.”

dgallen@umdbk.com