By: Hannah Fields

The Maryland Terrapins women’s soccer team suffered its second Big Ten loss of the season when it fell 2-0 to the Northwestern Wildcats.

One notable storyline for the Terps that raised several questions was the offensive formation. Maryland’s Jlon Phillips was virtually the only forward for the Terps in the first half, and the factors of heat and exhaustion may have indicated why the Terps only had three shot attempts in the first half.

Though the defenses for both Maryland and Northwestern appeared to be stopping each offense from progressing further than possession, the shutout ended early when Northwestern’s Marisa Viggiano sent a corner into the Maryland box. After a punch from goalkeeper Rachel Egyed and a scramble for the ball, the Wildcats’ Brenna Lovera put the ball into the back of the net.

Just a few short minutes later, the Wildcats Hannah Davidson secured another goal off of a corner from Viggiano with a header into the lower right corner of the goal.

The Terps did not give up hope, continuing to put pressure on the Northwestern defense, but they were unable to come out with clean shot attempts, and the first half came to a close with the Terps trailing 2-0.

After coming out in the second half with a new level of energy and a new formation, Maryland seemed to have a comeback in their sights. The Wildcats were able to get a ball past Erin Seppi, who replaced Egyed in goal, but the goal was negated due to an offsides call.

The Terps were able to come up with a few shot attempts by freshman Gi Krstec and senior Madison Turner late in the second half, but as time ran out on the clock, so did Maryland’s hopes of winning in Evanston.

Now with a 7-1-2 record, the Terps will return home to host Minnesota on Friday, Sept. 29.