Maryland women’s soccer suffers heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Ohio State

Maryland women’s soccer looked destined for a second-straight scoreless draw. Then a scramble ensued in front of the Terps’ net in the final minute. 

The ball bounced out to Ohio State’s Christin Baumbick, who took a shot that deflected off Katie Coyle into the net for a goal in the dying moments of the match. 

Maryland (3-3-5, 0-2-1 Big Ten) fell to Ohio State (5-3-2, 1-1-1 Big Ten) in heartbreaking fashion, 1-0, after the Terps were unable to survive the final of the Buckeyes’ 21 shot attempts. 

“I think the way that we stuck to our game plan and created chances on the transition side, we did enough to win the game and that’s an unlucky way to end the half,” midfielder Catherine DeRosa said. 

Ohio State was on the front foot from the start. Brooke Otto got a golden look in front of the net just two minutes in as she looked to give her side an early lead, but the defender skied her shot over the goal.

While the Buckeyes controlled possession early on, the Terps managed to create a few opportunities for themselves through some linkup play. 

The Terps started Kennedy Bell as a winger, higher up from her usual position of right back, hoping to provide a spark to the offense. Bell carried the ball often up the right side of the pitch, connecting with forwards Peyton Bernard and Lauren Wrigley, but Ohio State was able to contain the freshman and prevent her from using her speed to wreck the match. 

“Kennedy Bell is a special player, so wherever she is on the field, you’ve got to know where she is,” coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said. 

Maryland lost its reliable defender Halle Johnson to injury in the 25th minute. She was replaced by senior Eden White, a former national champion as a member of Santa Clara in 2020. 

“It’s the next man mentality, next girl up, and I think Eden coming in and doing exactly what she did just proves that,” DeRosa said. 

The Buckeyes continued to apply pressure to the Terps’ backline as the first half wore on, but Maryland stood strong. A powerful effort from forward Amanda Schlueter in the 32nd minute forced Terps goalkeeper Liz Beardsley to make an important diving save to keep the match scoreless. 

Both sides struggled to convert on chances in the first half. Ohio State attempted seven shots with only two attempts on target, while Maryland got five shots off but only one strike was on goal. 

The Buckeyes couldn’t capitalize on a pair of opportunities to score early in the second half.

Beardsley gloved a shot from Peyton McNamara over the bar in the 48th minute, and Ava Bramblett’s header on the ensuing corner floated threateningly towards the goal but just missed the target. 

Beardsley was solid throughout the match protecting the goal, recording eight saves and bailing out the Terps’ backline on multiple occasions. 

“I think that’s just Liz being Liz,” DeRosa said. “We expect her to come up big and make those saves when we need her to, and that’s exactly what she did today.” 

Maryland suffered another injury to its backline in the 53rd minute, when Caroline Koutsos went down and had to leave the contest for a brief period, but the senior later returned in the 74th minute. 

Both sides started to press forward more in the second half, leading to exciting end-to-end action. The Terps were particularly more aggressive compared to their first-half performance, possessing the ball far more in the attacking third.

Maryland’s energy in pressing the ball and getting forward helped the Terps to start to control the flow as the match pressed on. But similar to their last match against Purdue, they faced a barrage of attacks from their opposition in the final ten minutes. 

Ohio State finally broke through in the last minute following the goal from Baumbick. The Buckeyes saw out the rest of the match to claim the victory. 

The Terps will look to bounce back following the loss when they face Michigan State on Thursday.