Maryland women’s soccer allows 3 unanswered second-half goals in 3-1 loss to Ohio State

In Maryland women’s soccer coach Michael Marchiano’s attempt to give her more playing time, Maya Cheeseboro’s struggling debut, along with continued poor defense, led to a second-half collapse for Maryland women’s soccer.

To begin the second half, Marchiano put sophomore goalkeeper Maya Cheeseboro in goal in place of Faith Luckey. The redshirt sophomore had played every single minute in goal for the Terps this season up until that point. Cheeseboro, on the other hand, had never played in a collegiate match.

That decision proved to be costly, as Maryland (6-11, 2-8 Big Ten) fell 3-1 to Ohio State (8-2-6, 4-1-5 Big Ten) 3-1.

In her debut, Cheeseboro allowed three goals as Maryland’s defense allowed 11 of 15 second half shots on goal and six corner kicks to be taken against her. However, the sophomore was able to make eight saves through her 45 minutes played. 

Fortunately for Maryland, it would not have to face Ohio State goalkeeper Molly Pritchard, who has been perhaps the best goalkeeper in the Big Ten this season. 

Pritchard was unable to play in Sunday’s match after receiving a red card in the Buckeyes’ recent 4-2 win over Rutgers. The senior leads the conference with a 0.35 goals against average and 91.1% save percentage.

Ohio State elected to put junior goalkeeper Peighton Northrup in goal in Pritchard’s absence. Northrup’s only other appearance this season came when she played against Rutgers after Pritchard’s red card. In her 31 minutes played, she allowed two goals and made four saves on 12 shot attempts faced.

Coming off a second-half offensive surge on Thursday, where the Terps scored three goals on nine shots, they looked to continue their success against a backup goalie despite Ohio State having a defense that has been one of the best in the Big Ten. 

While both offenses were quiet through the first 29 minutes, with Ohio State only taking three shots and Maryland taking none, the Terps’ first shot of the day was an important one.

In the 30th minute, as junior forward/midfielder Lisa McIntyre drove toward the goal from midfield, she found redshirt senior forward Kelsey Smith to her left. Smith then dribbled to the top center of the penalty box and ripped a shot against the wind, netting a goal in the right side of the net. Smith’s score marked her team-leading sixth goal of the year.

Maryland’s ability to score on their first shot attempt was crucial as they were outshot 10-1 in the first 45 minutes.  

Into the second half, Marchiano sat Luckey on the bench after saving all four of the shots on goal she faced, in order to give Cheeseboro her first collegiate opportunity. 

“We’re mathematically out of postseason contention, and there’s a lot of players I think who have been working hard on their own individual development and who have been good teammates,” Marchiano said.

Only three minutes into the second half, the move looked questionable. Cheeseboro allowed a goal on her first shot attempt ever faced.

Junior midfielder Elle Britt was able to tie the game at one a piece in the 48th minute as she took a shot from the middle of the penalty box that went directly over Cheeseboro and into the net.

Maryland’s defense did not make Cheeseboro’s debut easy, as they allowed 11 of 15 shots on goal and six corner kicks to be taken against her. However, the sophomore was able to make eight saves through her 45 minutes played. 

Maryland continued to struggle to find any shot opportunities in the second half. The Terps were unable to take their first shot of the half and second of the game until an attempt from forward Gemma Davitian in the 80th minute. 

“(Ohio State’s defense) is a group that has some, I would say, strong, big, physical profile, and they’re really difficult to break down and we didn’t win enough duels today to create more chances in the game,” Marchiano said.

Cheeseboro’s debut began to get even worse, and the game was put out of reach for Maryland after it allowed consecutive goals to junior forward/midfielder Amanda Schlueter within the 82nd minute.

Schlueter’s scores marked the second straight game that Maryland had allowed back-to-back goals. They faced a similar issue in their previous game against Michigan, where they allowed goals in both the 47th and 48th minutes.

“Clearly there’s a mindset that our team needs to have, whether we start the game, or we start the second half, or the way we respond from conceding goals,” Marchiano said. “We haven’t had that mindset.”

Schlueter’s first of the two scores came after shooting and scoring a ball blocked by Cheeseboro on a previous shot attempt. The junior’s second goal came off a long shot from within the penalty box that went to the right of the net, outside the reach of Cheeseboro.

“We have one more week together and hopefully we can put together a really positive week to close this thing out in a positive way,” Marchiano said.