In the closing moments against Navy on Sunday, Maryland women’s soccer goalkeeper Rachel Egyed dove across the goal line and denied the Midshipmen’s would-be game-winning goal attempt, preserving a 0-0 draw.
The save was Egyed’s third and final of the match, preserving her first clean sheet of the season in her first full contest of the year. In the Terps’ previous three games this season, Egyed and fellow goalkeeper Erin Seppi had switched off at halftime.
Coach Ray Leone made the decision to stick with Egyed following an active first half Sunday. With the Midshipmen having launched eight unsuccessful shots, he opted to give the in-form netminder the call again after the break.
“Sometimes, you have a game where there’s so much action that you’ve got a feeling on what the team is doing, you just stay with that one [goalkeeper],” Leone said. “And because of the way this backline was working in coordination together, I thought it was best for us to leave it.”
That communication between the defense and goalkeeper helped stave off Navy’s strongest chance on frame in the 20th minute of the first half. When the Midshipmen launched a corner kick into the box, Egyed rushed out to parry it away.
The deflection fell to forward Hannah Miller, whose attempt struck defender Julia New on the goal line before midfielder Sydney Staier cleared the ball out of danger. In what was Egyed’s biggest mistake of the match, the defense stepped up and bailed out their goalkeeper.
While the Maryland attack began to find its footing and hold more possession, it still struggled to turn those looks into scoring opportunities. The Terps were outshot 5-1 in the second half. Egyed and the defense were the primary reason the Terps had an opportunity to win the game in overtime on Sunday.
With the 110-minute shutout, Egyed lowered her goals against average to 1.10, slightly better than Seppi’s 1.33 and has made eight saves in her four games.
Leone said the team will likely continue to use a combination of the more experienced Egyed — who made 17 starts a season ago — and Seppi, who’s in her second season at Maryland after transferring from Boston College, depending on how games unfold.
“If there wasn’t a lot of action, then you can easily change and it’s not a big deal,” Leone said. “But if the other one is in a groove, then you got to [stay with them].”
CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this article incorrectly stated Egyed and Seppi switched off at halftime in the Terps’ first four games. They switched off in the first three games. This article has been updated.
