Maryland women’s soccer leaves its West Coast trip empty, losing to Oregon 1-0

Photo by Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com. Photo courtesy of Oregon Athletics.

Both Maryland and Oregon took the field on Sunday looking to secure their first win in conference play. Although the Terps created more scoring chances, Maryland left its West Coast stretch without a win, losing to the Ducks 1-0. 

In the last game, Faith Luckey reached a career milestone, making her 100th career save. Something like this is needed to boost the Terps’ confidence and give them something positive to look back on after the three straight losses.

Maryland entered the game applying early pressure and made it hard for the Oregon offense to get past the middle of the field. Maryland forward Peyton Benard recorded the match’s first shot in the seventh minute. 

Oregon goalkeeper Kailey Kimball appeared for her first start for the Ducks. Diving to her right, Kimball made her first save of the season on Benard’s early scoring chance.

The Terrapins had a strong attack after Oregon’s first corner of the game. Maryland’s offense will need to continue this momentum to tally wins for the Terps, as its defense has been struggling compared to others in the Big Ten Conference.

After an aggressive play on an Oregon free kick, the Ducks had their goal overturned in the 16th minute of the game. Oregon gained more control of the ball as time went on, but Mckinley Heaven still found her chance in the 22nd minute to record Maryland’s third shot of the game. However, the ball was sent over the net.

In the last ten seconds of the half, Luckey made a great save on Oregon’s Logan Russo’s shot from outside the box. The half ended 0-0, with both teams finding their rhythm and identifying what worked throughout the first half.

The second half opened with a save from Luckey after another Oregon corner that was headed towards the back post in the 47th minute. 

Despite Maryland’s offense firing six shots not even halfway through the final 45 minutes, Oregon took control of the half and secured more possession of the ball. 

Lisa MacIntyre tried working her way into the box but was fouled by Oregon’s Taylor Devor. Devor received a yellow card, giving Maryland a free kick. Maryland, looking for a goal from Ary Oliver’s opportunity, flew over the net.   

In the 70th minute, Oregon’s Carley Cormack connected with the ball and passed it to Lauren Hunter. Before attempting to move through the Maryland defense, Hunter took a risk and shot it from a distance. Luckey missed the save, and the ball found the top right corner of the net. 

Chances piled up for both teams during the match, but the Ducks were the only ones to break through and secure their first goal of Big Ten play. 

Maryland continued its attack and attempted to even the match in the last 20 minutes. In the end, the Terps could not turn their opportunities into goals and ended the game with a 1-0 loss.  

The Terps return to College Park for the next three games against Penn State, No. 22 Wisconsin, and No. 9 UCLA. Maryland will need to maintain its offensive momentum and tighten up defensively to establish itself in the Big Ten Conference.