Before forward Jarena Harmon decided at the end of June to transfer to the Maryland women’s soccer team, she reviewed the biographies and statistics of her potential teammates.
Harmon, who spent her freshman season at Pittsburgh, learned forward Chelsea Jackson recorded 21 shots and appeared in 17 games with Oklahoma in 2015, and she knew Jackson, also a transfer addition this season, was motivated to help rebuild the program under first-year coach Ray Leone.
Harmon figured the two would complement one another, and through the Terps’ first eight games of the season, she’s been right. The duo has combined for 11 scores to lead the team’s production and energy.
“They told me that she is someone who wants to win and who will do pretty much anything to win,” Harmon said. “I was like, ‘That’s perfect, same mentality.’ I just knew we had to be building something special.”
When Harmon and Jackson took the field together for the first time during a late summer practice, Leone said the pair could have success in the Big Ten. For a team featuring 14 new players, Leone felt the two transfer players could provide a burst.
“We decided we needed to step up and bring something new to this team,” Jackson said. “Jarena brings a spark, and I’m more of a connector. So if I can find her or if she can find me, we can work really well together and create goals like that.”
During one of the team’s final preseason practices, the Terps played a game.
The players split into teams, and each had to either pass the ball or take a shot depending on their field position. When it came time for Harmon and Jackson to connect, they had little trouble.
They recorded four or five consecutive goals and defeated everyone on the opposing team.
“They were easy tap-ins, like effortless tap-ins,” Harmon said. “That was just a magical moment. [I thought], ‘We could do this in games. This is very possible.'”
Through Maryland’s first eight contests, Harmon and Jackson have anchored the offense. The unit has scored 14 times over its first eight games, the most the Terps have tallied in that span since 2013.
Harmon paces the Terps with six goals, which ranks 28th in the country. Jackson has added five.
“They’re so different, and I think that’s what makes it work,” Leone said. “It’s taken a long time for them to figure each other out, but you could see it coming. Every day, I see it getting better and better.”
Harmon said she and Jackson didn’t start to “really click” until the stretch of practices entering Maryland’s match against No. 25 Pepperdine on Sept. 2, the Terps’ first look against a ranked opponent this season.
Though they didn’t finish the shots, Harmon and Jackson felt their chemistry grow on the field as they communicated well and moved across the field in defensive situations.
Although the two didn’t connect against the Wave or in ensuing matchups against Appalachian State and Navy, Jackson sent the ball in Harmon’s direction during the 71st minute of Maryland’s 5-2 loss to George Mason on Sunday.
With the Terps trailing by three, Harmon recorded the team’s first goal.
“It was a big goal, bringing us back into the game,” Jackson said. “It’s a very difficult goal for us to score, so for us to connect on that play and realize that we can kind of do it together helped a lot.”
As Maryland breaks the huddle before every game, assistant coach Yewande Balogun yells, “Here we go Terps!” Then, Harmon screams.
And when she and Jackson make a play on the field, she reflects back on her decision to join the Terps and Leone’s confidence in their potential.
“I was excited,” Harmon said. “[Jackson is] fast, technical, skilled and, on top of that, mentally in the game pretty much 100 percent of the time.”
