Preview: Maryland women’s soccer looks to find win column against Indiana

Maryland women’s soccer (2-8-5) will embark on its final road trip of the season, traveling to Indiana (2-6-7).

Maryland’s most recent loss was its seventh in a row, albeit much closer than what the Terps have become accustomed to this month. Maryland fell 2-1 to Minnesota in a relatively evenly-played match.

After surrendering a goal in the first ten minutes to Minnesota’s Sophia Romine on a gorgeous feed from Elizabeth Overberg, the Terps responded, something they’ve struggled with since the start of Big Ten play. Midfielder Juliana Lynch dealt a dime to forward Alyssa Poarch deep in enemy territory, who evened the score at one 28 minutes in.

This would mark the third goal of Poarch’s season and Lynch’s third assist, tying midfielder Catherine DeRosa’s record for the team lead. The goal broke Maryland’s streak of three-straight shutout defeats, being outscored 13-0 over that span.

Additionally, this marked the first time the Terps had scored while trailing since late September against Illinois, and since had lost six-straight matches.

The tie didn’t last long, as the Golden Gophers held steady and added another score thanks to Gabbie Cesarone, who made it a 2-1 match with 16 seconds left in the first half.

In the second half, defenses dominated the middle of the field. In the final 45 minutes, the Golden Gophers took two total shots, while the Terps failed to fire off even one. 

“We don’t really talk about the losses, we talk about the next game,” coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said. “We’ll continue to become 1-0 after every game”

The Terps’ seventh-straight loss effectively knocked them out of Big Ten Tournament contention, dropping them to 13th out of the 14 teams in the conference. As for who occupies the 14th spot, that would be Indiana, Maryland’s upcoming opponent.

Despite Indiana holding a higher winning percentage (.367) than the Terps (.300), the Terps get the slight advantage for their upset victory over Michigan to kick off Big Ten play over a month ago. The Hoosiers, sitting at 0-6-2 in conference play, have yet to accomplish a conference win.

Indiana capped off its most recent match in a tie against Purdue to snap its own six-match losing streak.

Purdue scored first but Hoosiers forward Anna Bennett tied the score in the 36th minute. Two minutes later, midfielder Olivia Smith added another to go up 2-1. The goal was Bennett’s second of the season, tied for the team lead, and Smith’s first.

Purdue tied the match in the 63rd minute, and neither side scored after that. Despite the draw, the Hoosiers commanded the offense with an 18:8 shot disparity.

Maryland and Indiana consistently rank among the bottom in the majority of Big Ten statistical categories. The Terps and the Hoosiers are the only Big Ten teams with scoring averages below one, .800 and .667, respectively.

Both squads are the only two teams who have yet to attempt a penalty kick.

“The next two games are about Maryland pride,” Nemzer said. “The next two games are about making sure we’re inspiring the next class, we’re inspiring the youth to become like the Dayes sisters, to become like [Alyssa Poarch]. Those three hold a special place in my heart.”

Kickoff will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington.