Maryland women’s soccer puts up four shots, falls to No. 21 Wisconsin, 3-0

Wisconsin’s leading scorer, Emma Jaskaniec, had herself a day as she scored a first half trick to power the Badgers to a resounding victory. 

“Obviously, I saw Emma starting and wasn’t too happy to see that,” coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said. “We spoke about not letting her get free shots, and unfortunately she had three free looks. She’s one of the best in the Big Ten.” 

Maryland women’s soccer (3-9-5, 0-8-1 Big Ten) suffered a 3-0 defeat to No. 21 Wisconsin (11-3-3, 6-2-1 Big Ten) in another disappointing showing. 

The Badgers were extremely efficient in taking advantage of their looks. Wisconsin only attempted five shots in the first half but all five were on target with three goals. 

The Terps once again relied on goalkeeper Liz Beardsley to make big saves when the Badgers penetrated their defense. She made three saves, including an important stop in the 12th minute to deny senior Aryssa Mahrt an early goal. 

The Badgers started slow but woke up as the half dragged on, starting to impose their will on the Terps. Wisconsin got on the board first in the 15th minute after an incisive pass from Mahrt led to an easy tap-in goal for Jaskaniec to make it 1-0.

Jaskaniec doubled the lead in the 20th minute with a banger straight to the top left corner netting to put the Badgers up 2-0.

Wisconsin took control of possession after the second goal and moved the ball around the pitch with ease. The Badgers showed impressive composure, consistently finding the open player with a pass. 

Jaskaniec completed her first half hat trick in the 42nd minute after she raced past the defense and slid her shot to the left of the keeper’s grasp. 

Wisconsin controlled the tempo in the second half and played with caution to protect its sizable lead. The match halted to a slow defensive grind with neither team able to create dangerous chances in the final third.

There were no shots from either team in the second half until the 68th minute when Wisconsin finally got an attempt, an easily savable shot by freshman Ella Ottey from outside the box. 

Maryland came out of the gate with more juice and intent to get forward than it has shown in recent matches. But the Badgers’ defense quickly adjusted and the Terps struggled to create opportunities in the final third. 

Maryland failed to register a goal again for a ninth straight game, the longest scoring drought in school history. 

Maryland struggled to hold onto the ball and link passes together in the attacking third, attempting four shots in the contest. 

“There’s a difference between being frustrated and being pissed,” Nemzer said. “Frustrated is when you’re not working at it. You can be pissed when you are working at it. I’m not frustrated because I think that we are working hard and competing.” 

The Terps’ best chance of the night came in the 84th minute when freshman forward Lisa McIntyre ripped a shot from outside the box that bounced just wide of the bottom left corner. 

Maryland has struggled with injuries all season with players in and out of the lineup. Circumstances didn’t get any better this game as junior midfielder Lauren Wrigley went down after a rough challenge in the 56th minute and had to be subbed off. Freshman defender Kennedy Bell also suffered a knock and had to exit for a while but was able to return. 

Maryland was playing without key defender Katie Coyle, following her red card against Iowa. 

“I think that everybody knowing our game plan really works for us,” freshman forward Peyton Bernard said. “Everybody has to be ready to come in at any time.”