Preview: Maryland women’s soccer vs. No. 6 Penn State

Maryland women’s soccer (3-1-4) hits the road this weekend to kick off its Big Ten slate, taking on No. 6 Penn State (6-0-1) on Friday.

The Terps are riding high on a three-match win streak, the program’s longest since 2017, after gaining victories against Binghamton, George Mason and Towson to close its non-conference season.

Ava Morales has been on fire during the stretch, scoring in three-straight contests en route to a club-best six points on the year.

Morales began the campaign coming off the bench for most of the early matches before earning a spot in the starting lineup against Binghamton following her strong run of form. Coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said Morales had some areas to clean up in her play at the start of the season, but the sophomore embraced her role and earned minutes through her hard work in training. 

“I would say like make my choice easy,” Nemzer said. “Make it easy to put your name in the starting eleven and Ava has done that.” 

Morales didn’t even register a shot through Maryland’s first four matches, but has since been one of Nemzer’s most aggressive players.

“It’s not easy but we all have the same goal, we’re just trying to win the game,” Morales said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re starting or coming off the bench, you just have to take advantage of what time you can get.” 

Nemzer said the offensive-minded midfielder has also embraced the challenge of understanding the defensive responsibilities she has in her position this season, which has elevated her game. 

The Terps now face a tough conference schedule ahead in one of the top leagues in the country. The Big Ten currently has three teams ranked in the top 25, with Penn State being the lone school slotted in the top ten.

Nezmer understands the brutal conference slate will require her entire team to contribute and provide depth in order for Maryland to stay consistent and win games. 

“You can’t win with 11 players, you’ve got to win with depth,” Nemzer said. “I’m going to continue to say 33 strong.” 

The Terps will match up against possibly their toughest opponent of the season up next with the Nittany Lions, the defending Big Ten Tournament champion. 

Penn State was picked to win the conference in preseason polls. Its stout defense has only allowed two goals so far while the offense has scored 19. 

Goalkeeper Katherine Asman has been excellent in the cage, making 23 saves this season en route to a Big Ten-best .958 save percentage.

The Nittany Lions are led in scoring by sophomore midfielder Olivia Borgen and junior defender Mieke Schiemann, who have both bagged three goals. But fifth year forward Payton Linnehan leads the club with seven points on two goals and three assists.

Penn State enters the contest having been tested early on, including a 0-0 draw against the defending national runner-up No. 2 North Carolina on August 17. The Nittany Lions also secured a 1-0 over then-No. 16 TCU on August 27. 

Despite the size of the challenge that lies ahead, Nemzer says her unit is not content to just claim moral victories from the match. 

“Every game we want to win,” Nemzer said. “Why go to a game if you’re not going to win, why waste time?” 

Opening kickoff from Jeffrey Field is set for 6 p.m.