Maryland Coach Meg Ryan Nemzer found herself at a familiar venue on Sunday when she returned to where she spent 18 years as a player and assistant coach.  

In the dying moments of a game that looked destined to end scoreless, Sara Brocious powered an 88th-minute shot into the net to give No. 4 Rutgers a 1-0 win. 

The Scarlet Knights finished the game with nine shots compared to three for the Terps. 

The game was an extremely physical affair that saw Maryland finish with 15 fouls and Rutgers with 10. 

In the 10th minute, Kylie Daigle got a dangerous look at the net following a nice buildup by Rutgers, but she pushed the ball just wide. 

Malikae Dayes was issued a yellow card in the 14th minute for pulling back a Scarlet Knights player who looked potentially in on goal during a counter.  

Rutgers star sophomore Riley Tiernan got another potential opportunity for the Scarlet Knights in the 19th minute when she worked the ball into a threatening spot in the box. However the shot was once again wide.

Overall, Maryland frustrated the Rutgers’ high-powered offense in what was a whole team defensive effort from front to back. 

The Terps were very physical in the first half, finishing with six fouls, including several on Tiernan. 

Rutgers attempted five shots, but only one was on target. 

Maryland only attempted one in the first as they failed to find much of an offensive outlet. 

In the 48th minute, Tiernan put a cross into the box that was picked out by Amanda Schafer. 

However, Schafer failed to clear the ball before the Scarlet Knights nicked it off her. This led to an Allison Lowrey attempt that required fantastic diving save by keeper Emory Wegener to keep it scoreless.

Maryland’s offense really grew into the game in the second half creating more chances and allowing their defense some time to breathe. 

Alina Stahl looked lively and was involved in most of Maryland’s best sequences. 

Rutgers also created more opportunities and had their best chances in the second. 

Tiernan was the stand-out player on the day for Rutgers, dancing around the pitch with the ball and forcing the Terps to foul her repeatedly throughout the match. 

She drove the ball down the left flank and put many piercing crosses into the box.

Christa Waterman was pivotal for the Maryland defense in keeping Tiernan in check and not allowing her to get too comfortable.  

When Waterman went down with an injury halfway through the second half, Schafer switched to the left and picked up where she left off. 

Nemzer made the questionable decision to put Waterman back into the game for the last few minutes while still banged up. 

In the 88th minute, Tiernan beat her down the left side and made her way into the box. 

She fired a cross in front of the goal, which bounced around for a while, leading to a timely top right corner goal by Sara Brocious. 

One wonders if the quicker Schafer could have prevented Tiernan from making that penetrating run into the box had she still been over there. 

The game ended 1-0 for Rutgers in a heartbreaking loss for the Terps. 

Maryland will go again next Thursday when they take on Wisconsin away.