Eden White blasted a shot from outside of the penalty box that was parried away but not held by Navy’s goalkeeper. The ball bounced back to the feet of Katie Coyle, who tapped the ball into the back of the net for Maryland women’s soccer’s equalizer.

Coyle’s first goal as a Terp ultimately decided the result of a back-and-forth scoring affair. The Midshipmen scored three consecutive goals after the Terps took a two-goal lead, but Coyle had the last say in Maryland’s (0-1-2) 3-3 tie against Navy (1-0-2) on Thursday in the Terps’ first home match of 2023.

The Terps controlled the possession to begin the game. In the seventh minute, Peyton Bernard cut in the center of the goal box with her head towards the goal. Bernard layed off a light pass towards the penalty mark where Lauren Wrigley was awaiting. Wrigley’s shot arrowed toward the top left corner but was fended off by Navy goalkeeper Mattie Gallagher.

Maryland earned a free kick from the right side of the attacking third just three minutes later. The ball was crossed into the goal box by White and found Bernard. Catherine DeRosa rifled the ball into the bottom left corner off of Bernard’s first collegiate assist for the Terps’ first goal of the season.

“Peyton was unbelievable tonight,” coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said. “She just needs to find the ball in the back of the net and once she finds one, she’ll find a lot more.”

[Maryland women’s soccer couldn’t find the back of the net in its first two games of 2023]

The Terps weren’t done yet. Isabelle DiPrima raced up the field with the ball at her feet and a defender at her hip. She managed to find Lisa McIntyre while falling down, who played a one-touch pass to Madison Krakower. Krakower sliced a first-time shot past the goalkeeper and into the bottom right corner for her first collegiate goal in the 15th minute.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment,” Krakower said.

Maryland’s defense stood strong in the first half, keeping goalkeeper Liz Beardsley with little to do. Beardsley faced only two shots and made one save in the opening 45 minutes. The back four for the Terps remained composed, fending off opposing attackers from taking shots on net.

Maryland ended the first half with six shots, five of which were on goal, and a 2-0 advantage.

“I think that we came out in the first half and we just went for everything,” said Krakower. “… But when it came to the second half, the other team was in a different formation and … we weren’t doing everything that we did in the first half … we had to switch around different things in different positions so people could adjust.”

After struggling in the opening period, Navy bounced back to start the second half. Amanda Graziano chested the ball down to her feet and sent a sliced through ball to Alexa Riddle in the 49th minute. Riddle’s volley into the center of the box found the head of Marlee Heaven, who halved Maryland’s advantage.

[Maryland women’s soccer drops first game of season in sluggish 1-0 loss to Florida]

Navy’s second goal came three minutes later in similar fashion. Riddle crossed the ball into the box where Heaven once again powered a header into the back of the net to tie the game 2-2 in the early stages of the second half.

“I think those little moments, we just gotta be aware, no pressure on the ball, [we] gotta drop and find her,” said Nemzer. “… We gotta do better with those details because I’m excited to continue to grow and get better on that in the backline.”

The Terps didn’t stop applying pressure to the Midshipmen’s defense. In the 63rd minute, Kelsey Smith sent a flying ball over the midfield line to Bernard, who took on two defenders. Bernard chased the ball down on a breakaway, but her sho was blocked. The freshman registered four shots in her third career match.

The Midshipmen took their first lead of the game with their third goal in the 74th minute. Katie Herrman found Isabella Romano on the left side of the box. Her deflected strike beat Beardsley for the third time in the second half.

Coyle’s first Maryland goal rescued a draw for the Terps, who found themselves behind after taking a 2-0 advantage into the break. Maryland will seek its first win of 2023 against James Madison on Sunday in Harrisonburg.