In the 84th minute, Maryland was staring at their first loss, despite a valiant defensive effort. Then, a familiar face showed up in front of the net and scored a rip-roaring goal, which caused the crowd to explode.

 Alina Stahl scored her second goal this year, propelling Maryland to an incredible come-from-behind effort, as Maryland finished even with No. 17 Georgetown, 1-1.

“No matter what, even if it felt like they were coming at us, we were still keeping our game plan and just making sure we were doing what we had to do,” Stahl said after the game.

Georgetown finished with far more shots at 15, with just six for the Terps. They also had a noticeably high 12 corners compared to just six for Maryland. 

It was a classic case of a bend but don’t break performance from the Terps’ defense. 

The game was back and forth, with not much happening early on.

It wasn’t until the 13th minute that Mikayla Dayes had a powerful strike saved. To this point, no other team had recorded a shot.

Georgetown then controlled the game through possession, having a few decent chances, but Maryland disrupted their build-up play. 

In the 17th minute, Georgetown had a nice buildup, leading to Julia Leas’ shot that got blocked in a valiant defensive effort by Sydney Hopkins.  

Georgetown then started to attack in the box and had several shots that required a tremendous effort from Terps’ keeper Madeline Smith. 

Natalie Means, in particular, had a quality first half with four shots, including three on target.

In the first, Georgetown had a whopping 11 shots compared to just 1 for Maryland. They also had seven corners, compared to just 1 for the Terps. 

Goalkeeper Madeline Smith made many miraculous saves for Maryland, finishing the first half with seven saves, already a career-high. 

“I’m really proud of Maddie. She definitely was confident, and she did a lot of work over the summer, so I’m happy for her to have this moment,” head coach Meg Ryan Nemzer said.

Georgetown delivered the first blow in the 59th minute off of a perfect near-post corner by Maya Fernandez-Powell that was tapped in by Henley Tippins. 

Georgetown’s offense wasn’t quite as prolific in the second half, but Maryland failed to find much traction on the offensive end, as the Hoyas defense held them in check. 

Maryland tried to hit them on the counter but was mostly unsuccessful. 

Much of the second half lacked action compared to the first half, but Georgetown still controlled the ball. 

However, dramatically, a hero arose when Maryland needed it most.

 Stahl ignited a Terp spark, scoring a beautiful goal in the 84th minute off of an assist from Dayes. 

“Alina is a big-time player for big-time moments,” Nemzer said. 

Stahl has scored or assisted on every Maryland goal this year.

The entire arena erupted after the goal, giving the crowd new life. 

Maryland continued the energy for the rest of the game and came agonizingly close to scoring a winner on an 89th-minute Alyssa Poarch shot, but it was saved.

The game finished in a draw at 1-1, the fourth straight tie for Maryland.