Forward Jarena Harmon fired a pass from the top of the box to Kate Waters, who deposited the ball into the lower-left side of the net. In the 55th minute of the Maryland women’s soccer team’s 5-3 loss to Navy in Annapolis on Wednesday night, the midfielder scored her first career goal. The celebration was brief but sparked a rally for the Terps, who fell to Navy for the first time in 11 meetings.
“It felt good and it brought positivity,” Waters said. “It brought a positive vibe over the whole team. It felt good to make that change.”
Ahead of Maryland’s matchup with the Midshipmen, coach Ray Leone told his team he wanted to see them respond. After a pair of losses to No. 25 Pepperdine and Appalachian State last weekend, he hoped to see his team adjust.
But Leone didn’t see a response until after halftime.
During the 11th minute of regulation, Navy defender Alex Jackson stood in front of the right side of the goal in a crowd and tipped the ball in the lower-right side of the net to give the Midshipmen a one-goal lead they didn’t relinquish.
With about 12 minutes remaining in the first half, Midshipmen forward Clare MacAdam, who scored four goals through Navy’s first six games, took a line drive shot from about 30 yards out. It passed goalkeeper Rachel Egyed as she dove, doubling Navy’s advantage.
And about eight minutes later, midfielder Marisa Knott’s slide tackle resulted in a corner kick that Navy midfielder Rachel Feldman converted to give the Midshipmen a three-goal advantage entering the intermission.
Again after halftime, Leone watched to see his team’s reaction.
“We have to respond a little bit better because we weren’t playing poorly [when the Midshipmen opened the game on a 3-0 run],” Leone said. “[We] were down three at the half, and I wanted to see what [we] were made of. [We] came out flying and took a lot of risks.”
It didn’t take long for Maryland’s offense to capitalize in the second.
In the 75th minute, Harmon, who played as a substitute after suffering an injury against Appalachian State, scored off of a rebound from a free kick. Ten minutes later, forward Chelsea Jackson put the ball into the lower-left corner of the net.
Still, the Midshipmen added a pair in the second half to maintain their lead.
“We realized there was a lot of time left in the game and that if they could do it, we could do it,” Jackson said. “We just kind of kept that mentality. Our focus was on the first goal. Then if the first one comes, focus on the second.”
Maryland outshot Navy 12-10 in the second half, but the Midshipmen’s control with a 7-3 shooting advantage in the opening period put the game out of reach.
For the first time this season, Maryland allowed three goals in a half and five scores in a game. But Leone admired the Terps’ response in the second frame, which started with Waters’ first career goal.
“We knew we had to attack,” Waters said. “There was some miscommunication [in the first half]. We fixed it and moved on. It was a whole new energy [in the second half].”
