Maryland looked for a spark after they fell behind Northwestern, 2-0, in the second half. Brian St. Martin almost gave the Terps that jolt. St. Martin received the corner deep in the box. The sophomore defenseman fired a shot with his left foot toward the right post, but Northwestern keeper Jackson Weyman intercepted the scoring chance.
Maryland was shutout for the third straight game, losing to No. 16 Northwestern, 2-0, Friday night at Ludwig field.
Operating in a 4-4-2 system, the Terps registered 15 shots in the game, tying their season-high. Maryland created a multitude of opportunities, but every scoring opportunity seemed to hit everything but the back of the net.
“Just creates a lot of opportunities with us,” Stefan Copetti said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t capitalize today but the good thing is we’re getting in those spots, we’re getting chances and it’ll come.”
The Terps started the game fast and aggressive. Maryland recorded nine shots in the half, two of them on target. One of the two came in the 26th minute off a Maryland free kick. Max Riley’s shot was saved at the bottom of the net and Luke Van Heukelum’s second chance went off target. Leon Koehl registered the other shot on goal, an easy catch for Northwestern keeper Jackson Weyman.
Seger had three saves before allowing the goal, turning away a couple of shots from the foot of McCamy in the 35th minute. McCamy’s first of three shots on goal came on a free kick after a yellow card given to Luca Costabile. The Northwestern midfielder fired off a second shot on goal in the same sequence, yielding the same result. The third time was the charm.
The first half neared conclusion when the Wildcats took the lead with the lone goal of the first half. Collin McCamy took the pass from Jason Gajadhar at the top of the box. McCamy got the ball to his left foot and rifled a shot past the diving Seger, sending Northwestern into the half with a lead.
The Wildcats tacked on to the lead in the first ten minutes of the second half. McCamy and Gajadhar assisted on Christopher Thaggard’s second goal of the year. Thaggard’s kick nestled into the bottom left of the net, doubling Northwestern lead.
“Disappointing in the fact that we give up two goals today that were not them earning them, but they finished them very well,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said.
Maryland lost its third-straight conference game bringing the team’s conference record to 0-3-1 on the season. Maryland’s overall record now stands at 1-5-2 on the season.
The Terps will stay in College Park to take on Rutgers Tuesday night, in search of their first win since August 27.
