By Hannah Fields
It was not a great trip to Lincoln, Nebraska for the Maryland women’s soccer team, which lost 3-0 to the Huskers despite goalkeeper Rachel Egyed’s impeccable saves. Though Egyed saved several good shots and a penalty kick from Nebraska, the Huskers’ offense was too much for the Terps relatively inexperienced defensive line.
As the whistle blew to start the game, it looked as though the Huskers offense was putting pressure on the Terps. It still took a while for Nebraska to break the scoreless tie, which it did with just over 5 minutes left in the first half.
The mostly scoreless half was a result of Egyed’s early save on a 1-on-1 against Nebraska forward Elyse Huber. The pressure on Egyed intensified when the Terps gave Nebraska a penalty kick early in the first half, but Egyed dove to the right corner and punched out the shot by Nebraska’s Haley Hanson.
Egyed was tested by the Huskers’ offense that consistently put pressure on the Terps backline, and with no offensive possession from Maryland, the game was in her hands. With only a few minutes left in the first half though, Nebraska freshman Theresa Pujado launched the ball past Egyed to score one for the Huskers, scoring her first career goal.
The Terps were struggling to maintain possession in the midfield which made it difficult to create many shot opportunities. By the end of the first half, the Terps were outshot 8-2 by Nebraska.
The Terps were looking to bounce back in the second half, but they were instead met with another goal for the Huskers by Hanson, who slipped behind the defense to the back post to give the Cornhuskers their second goal of the night.
Despite allowing two goals, Egyed was not deterred and continued to make miraculous saves for the Terps, including a fingertip punch over the crossbar after a long-range shot from Nebraska.
At the 62-minute mark, the Huskers sealed their victory as Hanson scored her second goal, heading a cross into the back of the net.
With this loss, the Terps fall to a 1-4-1 record in Big Ten play and 7-4-2 overall. The Terps will look for redemption when they travel to Iowa Oct. 8.
