Maryland women’s soccer drops third straight match in 4-0 defeat to No. 22 Michigan

Sarah Bridenstine served a corner into the box in the 60th minute of this contest. The cross was redirected off a header and found its way to Sammi Woods, who slotted her shot home to extend Michigan’s lead to four. 

That capped off an excellent showing from the Wolverines.

Maryland women’s soccer (3-5-5, 0-4-1 Big Ten) suffered a 4-0 defeat to No. 22 Michigan (7-2-3, 3-1-1 Big Ten), who thoroughly dominated the match on both ends. The loss marked the third straight for the Terps.

“I thought the tactics were there, we just lost our individual battles,” coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said. “I think we gotta get back to basics this week, go back to what makes us special as a team, and get back to competing.” 

Woods put in a strong performance, scoring two goals on six shots, and being a general nuisance to the Terps all afternoon.  

Maryland once again faced a barrage of shots from its opposition. The Wolverines attempted 24 shots in the match, with 10 on goal. Terps’ goalkeeper Liz Beardsley saved seven of 11 shots against her, but it didn’t matter with her offense’s struggles.

Michigan started out on the front foot, getting forward and racking up shot attempts early. The Wolverines attempted 11 shots, with seven on target in the first half. 

It didn’t take long for them to convert. Michigan struck first in the fifth minute as a well-worked sequence set up an opportunity for Lilley Bosley. While her attempt was blocked, Jenna Lang collected the rebound and buried her shot to put the Wolverines up 1-0.

Michigan was awarded a penalty in the 19th minute after a Wolverines player was fouled on the edge of the box. Woods stepped up to the spot and calmly slotted the ball in the back of the net to double Michigan’s lead to 2-0.

Michigan slowed the tempo slightly following the second goal. The team was more content to play the ball back if there were no obvious options going forward. 

Despite that, the Wolverines were not happy to just adopt a completely conservative style of play and still continued to move the ball forward and look for chances around the box to shoot.  

Michigan was inches from getting a third goal just a minute after a penalty. Bridenstine lifted a cross into the box that was headed to the near post, where Bosley was waiting. She poked at the ball but was thrown off by a Maryland defender, causing the shot to miss wide. 

The Terps’  best offensive opportunities came from pressing high at select moments and trying to win the ball off the Michigan backline and midfielders. But the final third was where play broke down for Maryland as most of its shot attempts were relatively tame. 

“We did get shots off,” Nemzer said. “When we stuck to the game plan, the spaces were on. Obviously, I would have liked to put a couple more in the back of the net, but we just got to be better with our individual battles right now.” 

Ava Morales drove through the middle of the pitch in the 33rd minute and attempted Maryland’s first shot on goal from just outside the box. But the shot was at a comfortable height for Michigan goalkeeper Stephanie Sparkowski to save it. 

The Terps’ press played a factor again in the second half. Eva Mowery won the ball off a Wolverine defender in the 55th minute in the Michigan box. She had a free run on goal for a second before being swarmed by defenders and the goalie, shutting down the attack. 

The Wolverines didn’t let up despite their advantage. They added a third goal a minute later when Gabrielle Prych got her head on a corner to redirect the ball past the keeper.

Michigan continued to threaten off set pieces as the match went on. Woods scored off a free kick sequence to push the lead to 4-0 and take much of the intensity out of the match. 

The Wolverines saw out the rest of the match to claim the victory, as the Terps suffered another Big Ten defeat.

“I understand that obviously the results aren’t coming right now,” Nemzer said. “But when hard times come and you show resiliency, the reward is better. I see a team [in the future] that is going to play a beautiful game of soccer and is going to compete.”