By: Henry Quach

COLUMBUS, OH — Maryland women’s soccer was once again shut out in the finale of its three game road trip, dropping Friday night’s contest 3-0, at No. 7 Ohio State. 

The Terps defense faced immediate pressure. 

Ohio State worked an off-target shot in the third minute. While the attempt went harmlessly wide of goal, the Buckeyes’ opening shot foreshadowed the adverse match to come for Maryland.

A fortuitous bounce helped the Buckeyes strike just minutes later. Ohio State’s Amanda Schlueter took an initial shot, which deflected off of a Maryland defender, and into the path of Peyton McNamara. The Buckeye midfielder calmly finished the chance to give her side a 1-0 advantage. 

Then 24 seconds later, that lead doubled.

Schlueter bagged her second assist, this time finding forward Kailyn Dudkovich for the brace.​​ The one-two punch left Maryland in a dire 2-0 deficit after just seven minutes. Though, the Terps still pushed forward. 

Maryland midfielder Eva Morales found herself with an opportunity to bring one back for the Terps in the 11th minute but she was unable to connect, sending her shot wide of the net.

The game turned into a back and forth affair following the rapid Ohio State start. The Buckeyes had another good look on goal in the 20th minute, but Maryland goalkeeper Liz Beardsley made a clean save to keep her team within striking distance. Beardsley’s wasn’t finished either, making two more saves in the 23rd and 30th minutes. 

The Terps created a pair of chances in the 22nd and 26th minutes — following attempts by Morales and freshmen Kate Hawley respectively — but both were high and off target. 

Freshman Emily Lenhard had a solid look for Maryland in the 40th minute, but her shot was saved by Ohio State’s Molly Pritchard. The Terps didn’t put a shot on goal the rest of the evening. 

Ohio State maintained its 2-0 advantage into halftime, thanks to its cohesive attack — which tallied eight shot attempts (five on goal) to Maryland’s four.

It was a back and forth start in the second half, but that changed rather quickly. The Buckeyes re-established their offensive momentum, testing the Terps’ defense with seven shots between the 53rd and 62nd minutes. All but one of these sailed off target — the lone was saved by Beardsley in the 54th minute.

The Terps survived that flurry but Ohio State found another breakthrough not long after. 

Defensive midfielder Jacinda Bonham turned in a third Buckeyes goal in the 68th minute to virtually seal defeat for Maryland. Schlueter was once again the catalyst, grabbing a hat trick of assists as Bonham netted the insurance goal.  

Maryland continued pushing forward for the final 20 minutes, but ultimately came up empty handed.

The Terps struggled from a statistical standpoint as well. They had just two second half shots to Ohio State’s 12. The home side also earned more corner kicks in the half as well. 

After a week of road games, Maryland will look to regroup on home turf. The Terps host Big Ten rival Penn State on Thursday at 7 pm.