Maryland women’s soccer draws 0-0 in season finale to Rutgers

Photo by Rose Fernandes/ Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

With numbers upfield in a scoreless game and under 20 seconds remaining, Rutgers looked for one last run.

But Maryland women’s soccer’s defense recovered quickly, keeping the run contained and forcing a shot from outside the box that goalkeeper Faith Luckey easily corralled.

Backed by strong defense, Maryland forced a 0-0 draw in its season finale against Rutgers on Sunday at Ludwig Field in College Park. The shutout is Maryland’s first this season in Big Ten play.

“I think the group defended well, there’s no real complex or really different approach we took,” head coach Michael Marchiano said. “It’s just collective play, numbers behind the ball, organized pressing moments, and a tenacity that went with it.”

Maryland (6-11-1, 2-8-1 Big Ten) started quickly, earning a corner kick in the second minute. Sophomore midfielder Emily Lenhard took the corner kick and found forward Eva Mowery in the box. But the redshirt junior’s header was stopped by redshirt junior goalkeeper Olivia Bodmer.

The Terps received another quality scoring opportunity in the 13th minute after Mowery drew a foul, awarding Maryland a free kick. Senior midfielder Ava Morales lined up for the free kick attempt as she has often this season, but sailed her shot high and left. Maryland finished the first half with four shots — one of which was on goal — with three coming within the first 19 minutes of the game.

For the remaining 26 minutes, the Terps struggled to muster much else offensively. It was clear that a big part of Rutgers’ (4-7-5, 2-7-2 Big Ten) defensive game plan was to shut down redshirt junior Kelsey Smith. The forward had scored in her two prior games, and Rutgers committed multiple defenders to Smith at all times.  

But Maryland’s defense was just as strong in the first half. While the Scarlet Knights recorded nine shots on goal in the half, a majority of the shots were not close to the net. Only four of Rutgers’ shots were on target and Luckey made every save, leaving both teams scoreless at the end of the first half.

Exiting halftime, the Terps looked to avoid conceding an early second-half goal. In their previous two matches, the Terps surrendered goals to Michigan in the 47th and 48th minutes and to Ohio State in the 48th minute. But Maryland only conceded two shot attempts through the first 10 minutes of the second half, with neither being on goal.

On the other side of the pitch, Smith began to make more of an impact in the second half, recording her first shot on goal in the 56th minute. Working on two defenders, the redshirt junior took a long shot from beyond the penalty box. But the shot was stopped by Bodmer.

In the 80th minute, Rutgers appeared to take the lead. Senior midfielder Allie Post seemed to score the late go-ahead goal, on a cross to the left post, but the goal was waived off for offside upon replay review.

Roughly five minutes after the overturned call, the Terps’ best chance to break through came from defender Alyssa Abramson. Lenhard was able to deliver another quality corner kick to the middle of the box, where she found Abramson. But the senior’s header attempt went up and over the net. 

“The entire second half, we got to see the group battle,” Marchiano said. “It’s just true collective play with a really, really good, competitive mentality.”

As time continued to tick away, both teams still remained unable to score as they finished in a 0-0 draw for Maryland’s first draw of the season. The shutout marked the first time the Terps held an opponent scoreless since Aug. 21, when they defeated UMBC 1-0. 

While the Terps finished with a losing record for the fifth straight season, they showed promise for the program’s future in the coming years.

“Even though we didn’t necessarily meet the goal we wanted to, it was by far the most fun, most competitive team we’ve had,” Morales said. “I’m just so grateful to end it on this.”