Once again the Maryland Terrapins women’s soccer team (7-3-2, 1-3-1) found themselves down early 2-0 in the first half. After trailing Wisconsin 2-0 on Friday, the Terps were able to mount a comeback and force a 2-2 draw. However, Maryland was not able to recapture that magic from Friday as they fell to the Gophers (7-2-3, 3-1-1) 3-1.
It was once again the early goals that sealed the Terps fate on Sunday afternoon in College Park. The Gophers offense was hot from the start, as junior midfielder Molly Fiedler found the back of the net only six minutes into the game.
Four minutes later, Minnesota added another goal when senior midfielder Megan Koenig scored her second goal of the season.
For the second straight match, the Terps found themselves down multiple goals before most fans had even settled into their seats.
Much like Gi Krstec’s deep goal on Friday that sparked a comeback, Madison Turner had the Terps thinking comeback again when she fired a shot from way outside the box that soared past Minnesota goalie Kailee Sharp in the 12 minute.
The early score gave Maryland some confidence and they came out aggressive in the second half looking for more.
“We just keep fighting,” said redshirt sophomore Darby Moore.
Yet even with the offense getting on the board early, Maryland would not be able to climb all the way back as they were held scoreless for the final 78 minutes of action. The Gophers would also add a dagger in the 66 minute when junior forward April Brockin scored her second goal of the season.
It was a rough day for the Maryland defense, as the three goals allowed was a season high. The Terps have also now allowed multiple scores in four of their last five contests after not allowing two or more scores in their first seven games.
The offense did not look much better as the fatigue from two competitive games in a span of less than 48 hours seemed to have taken a toll of the Terps.
“We play so many games in a row,” said head coach Ray Leone. “You barely can stand.”
Besides fatigue, Maryland was forced to try and score without three of their main offensive weapons. Sophomore forward Jlon Flippens was scratched from the lineup with an illness while leading scorers Chelsea Jackson and Mikayla Dayes are both out for the season with injuries.
“Just from looking at the people that we have injured right now you can see that’s why it’s inconsistent,” senior Madison Turner said about the offense. “We lost Kayla earlier in this season and she was already looking to be our leading scorer. Chelsea was our leading scorer last year.”
What was a tough weekend for the Terps was a great one for the Gophers, who picked up two conference wins over Maryland and a ranked Rutgers team.
Maryland will now have a few days off before they are back on the road for a conference matchup against Nebraska. The game will take place in Lincoln at 8:05 p.m. on Thursday.
- Maryland volleyball swept by Indiana in second game of weekend homestand - October 7, 2023
- No. 8 Maryland field hockey falls to No. 6 Rutgers in penalty shootout, 3-2 - September 28, 2023
- Maryland women’s soccer stymied by No. 6 Penn State, 4-0 - September 15, 2023
