Welcome to The Diamondback Sports Digest. Every week, we send you a rundown of the latest Maryland athletics news.
Maryland football is falling short of its standards. The Terps (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) fell 42-28 to Indiana on Saturday despite winning the turnover margin.
In this week’s newsletter, we’ll examine where the Terps went wrong in Bloomington, men’s soccer’s continued conference success, field hockey’s narrow top-five defeat and more.
Maryland football flops
The Terps hadn’t lost their first two conference games in coach Michael Locksley’s five-year tenure entering Saturday. Their newest defeat added an unwelcomed blemish to Locksley’s resume.
Maryland posted numerous season-highs in its loss to Indiana, all of the negative variety — eight punts, five sacks given up and 42 points allowed.
The Terps secured four takeaways, but their troubles defending big plays continued. The Hoosiers had 10 passing plays of at least 15 yards and four rushes of 10-plus yards. Three of them resulted in touchdowns.
Though redshirt junior quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. threw three touchdowns and didn’t turn the ball over, he completed a season-low 63.4 percent of his passes. Edwards failed to convert on a pair of fourth downs with Maryland on its last leg.
“It’s one game, that’s the message,” Locksley said. “It’s as simple as cleaning up the things you can control. It ain’t that hard.”
Maryland men’s soccer is back as a Big Ten elite
Coming off their worst season in 22 years, the Terps started conference play with three straight wins for the first time since 2012. The most recent outcome was a 2-1 victory at Northwestern on Friday.
No. 19 Maryland struck in the 12th minute on a Leon Koehl penalty kick. The sophomore midfielder has successfully converted four penalty shots this season, including in back-to-back Big Ten matches. He’s eradicated the team’s penalty kick struggles from last year.
Junior forward Colin Griffith doubled the Terps’ lead less than five minutes later, with his third goal this season and second in conference play. Maryland allowed just one goal over the final 74 minutes.
Four different Terps have accounted for their six Big Ten goals this season. Maryland ended the weekend atop the conference standings.
Maryland field hockey couldn’t best Northwestern, once again
The Terps and the Wildcats, elite programs nationally, have created a rivalry rooted in success since Maryland’s move to the Big Ten in 2014. No. 2 Northwestern entered Friday’s meeting as winners of the last four match-ups — that mark extended to five.
Ilse Tromp gave the Wildcats a one-goal lead in the opening quarter off a penalty corner. That was the lone score of the game despite a combined 18 corners, as the Terps fell 1-0.
No. 5 Maryland was shutout for the third time this season, unable to score on any of its eight shots. All three of its defeats have come against then-top five opponents.
Best bits
- Johnny Holliday has been “The Voice of the Terps” for 45 years. His legacy is immense.
- Maryland men’s basketball guard Selton Miguel is on his third school, living in his third country. A career ascension over the last year led him to Maryland.
- Maryland women’s soccer hasn’t won any of its first five Big Ten games this season, but the Terps are focused on the controllables to remain positive.
- Maryland volleyball’s 3-2 loss to Iowa on Saturday marked its second straight five-set defeat to open conference play.
Forward Max Rogers’ prowess in set pieces has keyed Maryland men’s soccer’s rebound from last year.
Stat of the week:
Men’s soccer’s 3-0 start to its Big Ten schedule is a feat the Terps never accomplished in their previous 10 seasons in the conference.
Quote of the week:
“Y’all write about it so much that it’s to the point where I’m tired of talking about it,” Locksley said about Maryland’s consistent penalty issue.
