Preview: Maryland women’s soccer vs. George Mason

Maryland women’s soccer (1-1-4) remains at Ludwig Field for its second-straight game on Thursday to face its cross-state rival George Mason (0-6). 

Despite the Terps still being in the beginning stages of their 2023 campaign, coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer has already seen major signs of growth from her young group that includes 15 freshmen. 

“There are some younger players on the field, but they’re playing with a lot of experience right now,” Nemzer said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence.”

One freshman who has been playing with major confidence is the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Kennedy Bell. Bell set up the goal in Maryland’s most recent victory against Towson and is a key player for both the offense and defense at her outside back position. 

“I think every game, we’re taking a step in the right direction and that’s all you can ask,” senior midfielder Catherine DeRosa said. 

The Terps are starting to find their stride, but only after they struggled through a winless patch at the beginning of their season. 

Maryland started out with a scoreless draw versus American and a 1-0 loss against Florida before finally finding the back of the net in a 3-3 draw against Navy and drawing 2-2 with James Madison.

Nemzer made it a focus to create more quality opportunities following their first couple contests of the season. That’s held true, as three Terps scored in their draw against Navy and freshman Lisa McIntyre struck twice — her first career collegiate goals — against James Madison.

McIntyre, Bell, freshman Peyton Bernard and Madison Krakower, and sophomore Ava Morales have all scored or assisted on a goal this year, highlighting the youthful influence Maryland holds on offense. 

“I think that we’re producing goals right now, from several people,” Nemzer said. “So, as a coach that makes me happy that it’s not just one person scoring.”   

Despite the newfound scoring prowess the Terps displayed in their matches against Navy and James Madison, they still showed room to improve, surrendering a two-goal lead in both contests. 

The Terps put some of their struggles to close matches behind when they held off multiple late VCU attacks to maintain a scoreless tie. Maryland then finally put it together on both ends of the field with a 1-0 defeat over Towson its last time out, building off its performance against the Rams where Nemzer felt pleased with how the Terps closed out the contest.

Maryland will now look to build a winning streak for the first time this season against a George Mason club that’s gotten off to a poor start to its campaign. The Patriots have lost every match so far this season by at least three goals and have yet to find the back of the net themselves. 

George Mason is led offensively by midfielder Rachel Eberly, who has attempted four shots with three on target, both team highs. The Patriots are led in the back by goalkeeper Ginny Fronk, who has at least four saves in every match of her freshman campaign so far.

Despite the outlook of the game on paper, Nemzer knows not to overlook their opponents as the Terps still work to improve upon skills in the upcoming match in order to maintain sustained success. 

“I think the relationships are still coming in that final third and that’s what we’ve been focusing on,” Nemzer said. “But, I’m excited to see how much growth it goes until we get to the Big 10.” 

Maryland leads the all-time series 19-6-1 against George Mason, including a 3-0 victory last year that marked Nemzer’s first win at the helm of the Terps.

Kickoff at Ludwig Field in College Park is set for 7 p.m.