When Maryland women’s soccer entered its matchup with Minnesota on Friday, the Terps were looking to turn around a 0-3-1 road record, a span in which they hadn’t found the net in 384 consecutive minutes.
Holding a two-goal lead late in the match, Golden Gophers midfielder Megan Gray flicked what looked to be a routine shot on goal toward goalkeeper Rachel Egyed. But the usually sure-handed redshirt senior stepped up and let the ball slip between her legs and into the net, giving Minnesota a three-goal advantage.
Midfielder Anissa Mose put her hands on her head in shock, lowering her body as the Golden Gophers celebrated the final goal of their dominating 3-0 victory over Maryland. Egyed’s miscue seemed to sum up what has been a dismal stretch on the road. In away games this year, the Terps have been outscored 8-0.
“We competed well for 45 minutes and not for 90,” coach Ray Leone said. “And in the Big Ten you must go the whole game.”
With a little over 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Minnesota defender Marisa Windingstad lofted a soft throw-in to midfielder Molly Fiedler just outside the box. With her back to goal, Fiedler, who was closely marked by defender Madison Oracion, cut inside and launched a hard knuckling strike on target.
Egyed extended her arms in an attempt to deflect the shot and keep the game scoreless, but the ball snuck just by goaltender’s grasp. Meanwhile, the Terps struggled to produce anything of substance offensively.
“We came out strong and were doing very well in the first half,” Leone said. “It was unfortunate to go down a goal late because we were doing pretty well.”
After halftime, Minnesota (7-4-1, 3-1-1 Big Ten) shut down any hopes Maryland (3-6-3, 1-3 Big Ten) had of getting back in the game. Forward April Bockin sent a low cross to forward Makenzie Langdok on the near post, who was left alone after her marker over-pursued on the entry into the box. The sophomore tapped it by Egyed to give the Golden Gophers a 2-0 advantage.
The one-goal halftime deficit by the Terps was a fair representation of the one-sided play early on, as the Golden Gophers held a 7-1 shot advantage during the first period. Maryland’s only shot attempt came after a pair of corner kicks resulted in a chance for defender Kate Swetz, but her rushed attempt from just outside the six-yard box was easily blocked by the Minnesota defense.
After the intermission, the Terps didn’t fare much better. They were outshot 18-5, and they never seemed to recover from the jarring goal early in the period. Maryland dropped its third straight conference matchup.
“[It was a letdown], no doubt about it. And it shouldn’t have been” Leone said. “I just felt, for our young team, that they were really dejected… so we’ll learn from this. We’ll get stronger.”
