Maryland earns first winning streak in 2-0 win vs. Drexel

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Terrapins

Up by one goal in the fourth quarter, No.4 Maryland sought to put Drexel away with an insurance goal. Maci Bradford did just that, putting a shoulder fake on a defender to give her a clean lane to the net, where she drove wide to her right on goalkeeper Halle Geiger before sliding it into an empty net.

Backed by the impenetrable defense and veteran leadership on offense, Maryland (2-0) edges out Drexel (1-1) 2-0 on Sunday at the Plex.

Despite Drexel being the visiting team for Anna Casaldo the road crowd was not unfamiliar. Castaldo played four years with the Terps before transferring to Drexel in the offseason.

“She’s a great player and we talked about her a lot in our pre-meeting,” said Hope Rose “It’s just awesome to see her thriving at another school.”

After a sluggish first quarter, Maryland’s offense dominated in the second. The Terps drew two quick penalty corners to start the quarter, and while neither produced a goal, Maryland generated two quality scoring chances that were both sent just wide of the net by Rose.

“I felt we played a little bit frustrated, and we forced things a lot,” coach Missy Meharg said on the offense’s first-half play. “I thought it took us a while to get into our rhythm.”

The Terps continued to push offensively, registering five shots. But Drexel’s defense remained stout allowing just one of the five shots to make it on goal.

The Dragons used all ten players to clog the middle of the field, using their strength in numbers to block shooting and passing lanes. Despite Maryland’s offense swarming the cage all quarter, Drexel continuously limited the Terps’ offense to one-and-done opportunities by blocking numerous shots and quickly clearing any second-chance opportunities away from the net.

“It takes a lot more off-ball movement,” said Meharg on how to break Drexel’s style of defense. “It’s about really stretching the front field so that markers have to choose…[but] our distance from each other was too tight in the circle.”

However, Maryland broke through in the third quarter on a fast break goal by Fleur Knopert. The transfer from Ball State collected a pass just before the 25-yard line and entered Drexel’s defensive zone with a full head of steam. Knopert then cut left to the middle of the field and ripped a shot across her body into the bottom right corner of the cage, scoring her first goal of as a Terrapin and giving Maryland a 1-0 lead.

The Terps offense continued to thrive in the second half, adding an insurance goal from Bradford to give them a 2-0 advantage.

Maryland’s defense shined in its overtime win against Louisville, limiting the Cardinals to just four shots through nearly 79 minutes of play. The Terps’ defense continued to suffocate on Sunday as the midfield continuously put pressure on the Dragons in the neutral zone, leading to just three shots — their second consecutive game with four or fewer shots.

The Terps had a quick turnaround in its game against Drexel but will have a longer one in their next game as they travel to Evanston, Illinois, for the Big 10/ACC Cup on Friday against No.17 Boston College.