By Jackson Wantman
A late penalty proved to be the deciding factor in Sunday’s match against Rutgers, with Maryland’s conference losing streak extending to four games
It was a windy, yet sunny matchday at Ludwig as the Terps were looking to pick up their first win and goal in conference play against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
It was also a reunion for Maryland head coach Megha Ryan Nemzer, who played her college ball at Rutgers and was a part of the coaching staff as an assistant and associate head coach from 2008-2021.
“That was 18 years of my life..” said Nemzer, “I present more time there than I did here, you know,”
Rutgers got chances early, earning two corners back to back, and taking a shot inside the box, but the ball skied for the net giving Maryland possession.
Despite remaining goalless in Big 10 action coming into the game, Maryland still came with a lot of energy on the offensive end, being aggressive and trying to keep the ball in the Rutgers offensive third.
However, the theme of the season remained, with Maryland unable to capitalize or get a shot on Rutgers goalie Olivia Bodmer.
Rutgers kept piling on the corners, but the Terps’ backline would not break and Liz Beardlsey stood her ground yet again, making a fantastic diving save off a header from Allison Lynch.
Rutgers continued to test the Terrapins, getting scarily close to scoring on multiple occasions inside Maryland’s box. The crowd’s gasps could be heard all the way up in the press box as Liz Beardsley made some ambitious approaches on the ball and how long the ball stayed inside the box.
Maryland finally got a shot off in the second half, when senior defender Caroline Koutsos took a long shot from outside the box, which Olivia Bodmer saved with ease.
Rutgers kept getting the ball in Maryland’s box in the first ten minutes of the second half, but they were unable to get a good shot on target as the Maryland’s defense blocked shots and held their own.
The pressure on Maryland continued, as they were unable to consistently win back possession and gave up more shots to Rutgers, many of which sailed over the net to Maryland’s pleasure.
Liz Beardsley shut down yet another Rutgers breakaway in the sixty-third minute, making another superb dive on the ball inside the box.
Maryland got their best chance of the game in the seventy-first minute, when Lisa McIntyre slotted a perfectly timed through ball to fellow freshman Hannah Schapiro, who’s shot just barely went over Olivia Bodmer and the net.
The game started to get a little chippy late, as three fouls were given between the seventy-fourth and seventy-sixth minute.
Maryland had another fantastic opportunity in the eighty-third minute, when Ava Morales gave Kennedy Bell a prime pass inside the box to give the Terps the late lead. However, the ball deflected off Bell’s foot and went out of bounds.
“I wanted to iht it but I heard someone behind me day leave it at the last second so I pulled out of it..” said the freshman defender, “I should have committed either way.”
Unfortunately, disaster struck just after, when Catherine DeRosa committed a foul inside the box, awarding the Scarlet Knights a penalty. Junior midfielder Kylie Daigle calmly sent in her first goal of the season, giving Rutgers a 1-0 lead with just six minutes left to play.
That goal proved to be the winner as Maryland dropped their fifth conference game of the season and their sixth overall.
The Terps will look to end their conference losing streak against Nebraska(9-2-3, 3-1-2), this Thursday in Lincoln, NE at 8pm.
