Maryland women’s soccer dropped another Big Ten matchup Thursday night, falling to Iowa on the road, 2–0. 

The loss marked Maryland’s fourth straight, bringing the Terps to 6–8 overall (2–5 Big Ten) as they continue to search for their first away win of the season — the Terps have yet to score a goal on the road all year. 

Despite showing energy early, the Terps couldn’t hold off the Hawkeyes’ steady pressure.

Maryland started strong, managing to keep possession early on and limit Iowa’s chances in the opening minutes. But Iowa wasted no time firing at goalie Faith Luckey, who came up with key early saves to keep things level. Luckey, who’s played every minute this season, finished with nine saves and once again showed why she’s been a standout for Maryland all year.

Midfielder Lisa McIntyre stood out for the Terps, stayed active on the ball and drove the team’s attack throughout both halves. She played with intensity, constantly looking to move forward, but often found herself surrounded by Iowa defenders.

In the 24th minute, Ava Morales came close to breaking the deadlock with a shot that just skimmed over the crossbar — it was one of Maryland’s best looks of the night. 

Just before halftime, Iowa finally broke through. Kenzie Roling slipped one past Luckey into the bottom left corner, giving the Hawkeyes the lead.

Maryland tried to reset coming out of the half and build more rhythm to keep pressure near Iowa’s net. Still, the Hawkeyes controlled most of the possession and kept Maryland from finding consistent movement up the field. 

About 15 minutes into the second half, a cross from Kelli McGroarty connected with Iba Oching, who set up another finish to double Iowa’s lead.

The Terps had a few looks late but couldn’t convert, and Iowa’s defense stayed organized to close it out.

Reflecting on last week’s match, head coach Michael Marchiano pointed to Maryland’s need to improve defensively and maintain ball control under pressure.

 “I think when it comes to a game where you can see 25 shots that we conceded, I think that falls on everybody…so when we talk about lightening the load… we need to keep the ball a little bit better and progress up the field,” Marchiano said earlier this week. “When we do lose the ball, we need to make sure that we make the opponent own everything by us being really organized and our players being really sharp in our duels.”

The Terps have shown flashes of connection and effort, especially from players like McIntyre, Morales and Smith, but the results haven’t followed. With three games left in conference play, Maryland will look to regroup and find momentum heading into the final stretch.

Next up, the Terps continue their road trip to take on Nebraska on Sunday.