Maryland women’s soccer drops tightly-played match against Minnesota, 2-1

Just over halfway through the first half, Maryland women’s soccer found itselves in an all-too-familiar position. Minnesota got on the scoreboard ten minutes in, putting Maryland in position to respond, which the Terps hadn’t done much of in its past few matches. 

Today, however, the Terps answered the call. Midfielder Juliana Lynch surveyed the field in the 28th minute, saw forward Alyssa Poarch deep in Minnesota territory with one defender to beat, and sent a ball where only her teammate could reach it. 

Poarch converted to tie the score at one — breaking Maryland’s streak of 20 straight goals allowed since the last time the Terps scored.

“It sucks that it’s my last game here, but I’m glad I got to end off the way I did,” Poarch said.

Unfortunately for the Terps, Poarch’s score wasn’t enough in a match they needed to win to keep their season alive. The Golden Gophers, who tacked on another right before the first half finished, mathematically eliminated the Terps from Big Ten Tournament contention.

The match got off to a much more competitive opening than in Maryland’s prior game, which saw Ohio State capitalize on the opening kick and score 31 seconds in. This time, the teams exchanged blows early.

Defender Malikae Dayes was a welcome addition back into the starting lineup for Maryland, after she was suspended in the Penn State match for taking one too many yellow cards.

Just under ten minutes in, the Golden Gophers striked first. Defender Elizabeth Overberg drove upfield, felt the defense on her back, and delivered a picture-perfect pass from across her body to midfielder Sophia Romine. Romine connected on the high feed and put the goal through the net just out of Maryland goalkeeper Madeline Smith’s reach, giving Minnesota an early 1-0 lead.

The goal was Romine’s third of the season, and Overberg’s second assist.

Maryland stayed in the match following the early deficit, remaining aggressive on the offensive end. The Terps’ assertiveness finally paid off in the 28th minute, when Lynch found a streaking Poarch upfield, who capitalized on the pass to pull even at one. The goal was the third of the season for the midfielder, and the assist was Lynch’s third — tying midfielder Catherine DeRosa for the team lead.

Both defenses held strong for the majority of the remainder of the half, as both offenses repeatedly came up empty despite reaching opposition territory. That is, until the final minute, when Maryland again ran into trouble. 

Minnesota capitalized on a set piece with forward Khyah Harper taking a free kick with 16 seconds remaining, which made its way right to defender Gabbie Cesarone, who buried her fourth goal of the season, the team lead.

The Terps now found themselves down once more, and momentum completely turned to the side of the Golden Gophers at halftime, now up 2-1.

Both back lines had established their presence in the first half, as there were only a total of five shots taken through the first 45 minutes. 

Minnesota entered as the most prolific corner kick-taking team in the Big Ten (113), and the Golden Gophers added on to that total with three more in the first half. Maryland still searched for its first.

The second period commenced with both teams continuing to play an even match. 

25 minutes into the half, the Golden Gophers had taken a single shot while the Terps remained without.

The Terps never did even the score, as neither they nor the Golden Gophers did much on the offensive end in the second half. 

Maryland broke its streak of three straight scoreless outings, but the 2-1 defeat dropped the Terps to 1-7-0 in Big Ten play.

“I think both teams recognized how much this game meant, and a lot of it was played in the middle of the park,” coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said. “It was two teams fighting hard, and I don’t hate how much my team fought.”