Maryland women’s soccer suffers fifth straight loss in 3-0 defeat to Nebraska

Nebraska has struggled this season in allowing late goals. But it was Maryland who was caught sleeping in the 83rd minute.

A through ball was played over the top to Eleanor Dale, the Cornhuskers’ biggest threat on offense. The senior calmly buried her shot in the back of the net to double her side’s lead. 

“I just thought that the momentum changed after that goal,” coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said. 

Dale struck again in the final minute to thwart a miraculous Terp comeback.

Maryland women’s soccer (3-7-5, 0-6-1 Big Ten) fell to Nebraska (10-2-3, 4-1-2 Big Ten) on a windy Thursday in Lincoln, 3-0.

“I thought today the team competed for 90 minutes,” Nemzer said. “I thought we did a good job as far as sticking to the game plan. The scoreline does not reflect what we did today.” 

Dale, the nation’s leading goalscorer, scored twice, and Florence Belzile’s two assists — her second straight multi-assist outing — led the Cornhuskers’ offensive charge.

“I’ve seen Eleanor over the last four years and kudos to her because she has developed with every single year,” Nemzer said. “She plays a huge part in what they do.” 

The match got off to a fast start with both sides finding quality chances early. Play was wide open with each offense getting out on the break and running at the opposition.

Nebraska’s high-flying offense, the highest scoring in the Big Ten, put intense pressure on the Terps with 19 shots and nine looks on goal. The Cornhuskers frequently carried the ball into the Terps’ box and created dangerous opportunities. 

The first such chance arrived early in the third minute, but Dale’s shot fell just wide of the net. 

Nebraska continued to press forward and broke through in the 19th minute when Sarah Weber’s shot hit the crossbar and bounced off of goalkeeper Liz Beardsley’s back into the cage to put the Cornhuskers up 1-0.

The strong winds caused shots to carry and drift more in the air as the match went on. A strike from Nebraska’s Sadie Waite in the 35th minute hit the woodwork and caromed off the crossbar.

The Cornhuskers didn’t let up on the attacking end in the second half and continued to set themselves up for good looks. Maryland defender Katie Coyle needed to make a heroic last-ditch tackle in the 50th minute to deny Dale a one-on-one scoring chance with the keeper. 

Nebraska’s offense became more reliant on counters as the second half wore on, but Beardsley and the rest of the Terps’ defense did enough to get back and stop some chances. 

Then the Cornhuskers were relentless and surprised Maryland with a quickly played drop ball in the 83rd minute. It set up an attack that doubled Nebraska’s lead to take full control of the momentum.

The Cornhuskers bombarded the tired Terps’ defense in the final few minutes and Dale scored her second goal in the 90th minute to seal the contest. 

Maryland has struggled to create offense this season, having yet to score in Big Ten play. But it managed to threaten on the counter-attack in this contest, attempting 12 shots with five on target. 

The Terps had the wind behind them in the first half, which allowed the midfield to play balls in the air behind the defense to the strikers waiting for a chance to run at the goal. 

Peyton Bernard twice ran in behind Nebraska’s defense in the eighth and 29th minutes. Her shot struck the woodwork to deny Maryland of a goal both times.

The Terps started to push ahead more following Weber’s goal and created several good chances, including a shot from Kennedy Bell in the 31st minute that forced a strong save from Cornhuskers goalkeeper Samantha Hauk. 

Bell’s attempt was the penultimate of Maryland’s seven shots in the first half. Its offense struggled worse after the break, registering just five looks over the final 45 minutes.

While the Terps’ defense kept them in the match up until the final 10 minutes, their offense didn’t do them any favors, failing to score for the tenth time this season — keeping them without a goal in conference play.

“Looking forward to Iowa, obviously quick turnaround, but we’ve got to get some fuel and got to recover,” Nemzer said. “At the end of the day, I know this team is gonna be focused for Sunday’s match.”