Peyton Bernard’s game-winning goal secures Maryland a 2-1 win on Senior Day

Photo by Dylan Davies/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

After back-to-back shutout losses, Maryland women’s soccer needed to find a spark, and what better way to find it than on Senior Day. Maryland senior Peyton Bernard got the chance to be honored, and in return, she scored the game-winning goal to secure Maryland’s third win of the season against Binghamton, 2-1. 

The Terps made it onto the board within the first two minutes when Mckinley Heaven, one of Maryland’s strongest players, scored her first highly anticipated goal of the year.

Heaven’s placement was nearly perfect; quickly secured the ball in the box and sent it to the top-right corner, where Binghamton goalkeeper Rebecca Kessler could not reach it. 

“It was really nice to see Mckinley kind of execute in a really composed and clinical way; it was a great finish by her,” Maryland’s head coach Michael Marchiano said. “There is definitely a glimpse of quality there that maybe we haven’t seen and hope to see more of.” 

Binghamton applied more pressure toward the end of the first half, but Maryland’s defense stayed strong. Ella Bulava came off a strong performance against ODU, despite the loss, and continues to play an essential role for Maryland’s back line. 

Both teams played an even game before going into halftime. But 16 minutes into the second half, Binghamton’s Chelsea Donaldson scored a goal for the Bearcats and tied the game.    

“At halftime, we noticed a few things, like a lull in our play,” Bernard said. “I think we started having technical errors and issues. We ended up going down a goal, and then we really were like, ‘ We can’t give up now.”

Bernard took her first shot early in the game off Maryland’s first corner kick. As the game progressed, anticipation for a goal built as Bernard and Abigail Stager worked well together, maintaining possession throughout the match. 

The hard work paid off in the 89th minute when Bernard scored her first goal of the season off a penalty kick, bringing Maryland to a 2-1 lead with little time left.  

“I worked so, so hard for that moment, and when it finally happens, especially on senior day, I can’t even explain it,” Bernard said. “I saw that there were 45 seconds left, and I was like, ‘I have to make this.’”

The Terps look to build on this win as they head to Washington for their next game on Thursday, Sept. 10. Although Maryland had a great comeback following two consecutive losses to Navy and Old Dominion, Marchiano knows they still need to level up if they want to succeed in the Big Ten.    

“I was at least pleased that the group showed up to fight from the first whistle until the last whistle,” said Marchiano. “We need to play a heck of a lot better today if we want to be competitive in the Big Ten.”