No. 11 Maryland falls 2-0 to No. 4 Virginia after late consecutive goals

After a solid defensive stand for the first three quarters, Maryland was overwhelmed by Virginia’s offensive pressure late in the game and was shut out by elite goalkeeper Nilou Lempers.

No. 11 Maryland (9-7, 5-3 Big Ten) lost to No. 4 Virginia 2-0 (13-1, 6-1 ACC) at the University Hall Turf Field in Charlottesville, Virginia.

With a scoreless game going into the fourth quarter, the game was reminiscent of Maryland’s most recent matchup with Rutgers. Virginia changed that in the final 15 minutes.

Virginia’s graduate midfielder Suze Leemans rocketed the ball towards the goal, and freshman forward Riley Savage tipped it into the left corner of the goal to break the scoreless tie. 

The Cavaliers scored their second goal less than two minutes later, when senior midfielder Caroline Nemec slipped through the Maryland defense to position herself near the goal. Sophomore forward Catalina Quinteros set her up with a great look and assisted on the score.

Virginia then kept the pressure on junior goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko by earning a penalty corner, but Maryland’s defense held up.

With just more than three minutes to go in the second quarter, Maryland took its closest shot of the game, but it went wide.

With 1:51 left in the first quarter, a corner was awarded to the Cavaliers. Klebasko had a strong save after diving on the ground to block the initial shot from junior defender Mia Abello, then quickly recovered to make another save on a putback attempt.

The Terps’ offense failed to apply pressure in the first half, mustering only two shots, compared to Virginia’s five. In the third quarter, freshman midfielder Maia Adamson had Maryland’s best scoring opportunity of the game and made a beautiful attempt on goal. 

The Terps’ first penalty corner of the game followed soon after, with 1:45 remaining. Though it was perhaps Maryland’s best chance to get on the board to that point, the Terps couldn’t convert.

Maryland earned four corners throughout the game – its most opportune chances to score – but was unable to find a goal from those.

In the first half, the Cavaliers had three corners and five shots, but failed to convert any of them. Klebasko stood strong in the net and notched three saves.

The scoreless first three quarters can also be attributed to junior goalkeeper Nilou Lempers, who ranks first nationally in goals against average (.494) and save percentage (.878). This was the goalkeeper’s sixth shutout.

The Terps and the Cavaliers had similar offensive outings, with a 13-10 shot advantage for Virginia and four corners each. But only Virginia was able to capitalize. 

The Terps’ final regular-season game is Sunday against Northeastern at home at 11:00 a.m.