Maryland women’s soccer draws with Saint Joseph’s, 0-0

This afternoon’s matchup was defined by the soaked field, as just about every Terp or Hawk taking a spill at some point. 

As a result, Maryland and Saint Joseph’s finished in a 0-0 draw, as neither offense could muster anything on the sloppy playing surface.

The draw moved Maryland’s record to 1-1-5.

“We needed to be smarter [with] the ball movement,” coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said. “I think quicker movement needs to be there. I thought at moments it was a little too slow, and then I think obviously when it moves quicker you start shifting some teams around and that opens up gaps as well.

Maryland women’s soccer took on Saint Joseph’s in a Sunday matchup in College Park.

The Terps started the match on the wrong foot, spending the first few minutes defending their own territory. Saint Joseph’s played with early aggression on offense, but Maryland didn’t take long to collect themselves after the first few minutes. 

The Terps’ response set the tone for the match.

Maryland didn’t gain any steam on offense until 12 minutes in, when forward Alyssa Poarch cut through the defense and struck, forcing Saint Joseph’s goalkeeper Katie Cappelletti to make a tough save. Midfielder Juliana Lynch missed the followup. 

Though this didn’t pan out, the Terps forced the Hawks to play on their heels for a strong stretch in the middle of the first half.

Maryland’s aggression was on display as the Terps took no time at all to mount a 5:2 shot advantage. 

Poarch’s second shot of the afternoon bounced hard off the crossbar in the closest shot yet at the 17:40 mark of the first half.

The Terps forced Cappelletti into some cardio quickly, as halfway through the first half, the Hawks had two saves on as many shots on goal.

Defender Malikae Dayes was a standout on defense for the Terps, intercepting a multitude of passes deep in Maryland territory and almost single handedly stopping numerous Hawks runs.

Maryland settled for yet another opening half without a score, and their ferocious defense kept Saint Joseph’s scoreless as well. Maryland held a 4:2 corner kick advantage at halftime.

The swampy conditions likely contributed to the rough, messy play, as Saint Joseph’s racked up its sixth foul of the match not even five minutes into the second half.

Forward Kam Fisher entered the game at 59:28 and immediately got a shot on goal, which she missed wide right for the Terps’ sixth attempt of the day.

The Terps had a bunch of missed opportunities against the Hawks. Maryland held an 8:2 corner kick advantage with 20 minutes remaining in the game, but the team repeatedly passed up potential shots in favor of making the extra pass to a teammate, which increased the Terps’ turnover numbers.

Maryland provided backup goalkeeper Emory Wegener with an easy outing, as she was able to go all 90 minutes without needing to record a save since the Hawks never struck within range. The graduate student got the start today over regular starter Madeline Smith in honor of Senior Night.

Both teams battled until the end, neither content with going home without a goal scored, but both would ultimately come up empty.

The fourteen total fouls are one of the telling stats from this outing, five of which came from Terps. 

The Terps took twelve shots, four times as many as Saint Joseph’s, but the match ended in a scoreless tie.

“I feel like [chances on goal] starts with our forward line and everyone being compact,” said defender Amanda Schafer. “Everyone being turned on and ready to go starts with the forwards and then trickles on down.”