Maryland women’s soccer battles to scoreless draw with Purdue

Liz Beardsley was in the midst of a relatively quiet day in the 83rd minute when Purdue midfielder Emily Mathews was able to break through the defense. Mathews fired a shot on the ground, but Beardsley came out to meet her and make a big-time sliding save to keep the match scoreless. 

Maryland women’s soccer (3-2-5) battled to a scoreless draw with Purdue (3-6-1) on a cool fall night at Ludwig Field. 

Maryland created a slew of chances throughout the match, attempting 17 shots with six on target. However, it was unable to find the back of the net. 

“I thought we did enough to get the win tonight,” coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said. “I think in the final third is where we need to do better, so we’ll have to go back and clean that up.” 

The Terps controlled possession in the early going. They were able to stay composed and move the ball around the pitch. An early shot in the third minute by freshman forward Peyton Bernard was gloved over the goal by Purdue keeper Kailey Kimball. 

Sophomore midfielder Ava Morales attempted a shot in the 20th minute, cutting in from the left side of the box on her weak foot. But, the kick sailed just over the far post. 

Purdue mostly tried to attack the Terps on the counter-attack, but their centerbacks stood strong and marshaled the Boilermakers away from the goal. 

The Maryland defense experienced a tense moment in the 36th minute when a free kick drifted out of bounds. It was just out of reach of a Purdue attacker who had sprung free from the defense.

Freshman forward Lisa McIntyre launched a shot in the 37th minute that required an athletic save from Kimball. 

The Terps were able to keep the ball in the attacking third and found another golden chance moments later. A Catherine DeRosa strike hit the post, but bounced out to keep the match scoreless. Maryland continued to apply pressure as the first half wore on, but the Boilermakers were able to disrupt just enough to escape without a blemish.

The Terps controlled 68 percent of possession in the first half while attempting 10 shots with three on target. Their defense played up to the challenge and held the Boilermakers without a shot in the half. 

Both sides came out firing in the second half. Morales missed high on a threatening look just over a minute in and senior midfielder Emily Mathews registered Purdue’s first shot of the contest a minute later, also missing. 

Maryland quickly grew into the half and returned to its dominance of possession from the first half. It put together some nice offensive sequences that put pressure on the Boilermakers’ defense. 

Purdue’s counters were improved in the second half, pushing further into the Terps’ box and creating some nervous moments for the Maryland backs that required clearances. 

The match settled into more of a lull as the second half carried on, and the Terps’ offense appeared to lose some steam. 

“I feel like we’re taking steps in the right direction,” junior midfielder Lauren Wrigley said. “But we’ve got to get more goals in the back of the net.”  

Both sides started to play with more physicality as legs began to tire. The game lost its flow and became choppy with the increased whistles. 

Freshman defender Kennedy Bell went to the ground with an apparent injury in the 77th minute but was able to continue in the match. She went to the ground again moments later after winning an important header to clear the ball out of the Terps’ box, but once again shook off the knock to return to the game. 

Beardsley called upon to make a major save in the 83rd minute to deny Emily Matthews from point blank range. The ensuing corner led to the ball bouncing around in the box and Megan Hutchinson striking the crossbar.

“We talked about standing tall in those last ten minutes and I thought they did that,” Nemzer said. 

Maryland saw out the rest of the match to secure the draw. 

The Terps will next host Ohio State on Sunday in another home match.