By: Joe Catapano
Although redshirt sophomore Rachel Egyed conceded three goals Sunday afternoon in her first start since September 7, Maryland’s 3-1 loss to Michigan was not her fault by any means.
Head coach Ray Leone gave Egyed the nod in goal Sunday, her first appearance since Maryland’s 5-3 loss to Navy. Katelyn Jensen has gotten the majority of time in net since then, but was removed from Thursday’s game against Michigan State after an apparent, but unconfirmed injury. Stephanie Senn replaced Jensen in the second half only to allow three goals in an eventual 3-2 overtime loss.
Starting in goal after not playing for almost a month is a difficult task on its own, but having 26 shots fired her way could not have made the job any easier for Egyed. Poor marking inside the box plagued the Terrapins all afternoon against a well-disciplined Michigan team.
The Wolverines, who entered the game 8-1-1 overall, opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. Nicky Waldeck broke free from a Maryland defender on the right side of the box and played a sharp pass across to a wide-open Jackie White, who had an easy task of slipping a shot past a helpless Egyed.
A similar scenario transpired just 20 minutes later when Michigan’s Emma Groffsky was left unmarked. She stood alone on top of the six-yard box for an entire three seconds and once she received the pass from Reilly Martin, Groffsky gently tapped the ball past Egyed for her first goal of the season.
Egyed was left with no defender in between her and a Michigan attacker on a third occasion just five minutes after halftime. Martin was tackled inside the box but worked hard to get back to her feet to blast a shot into the top of the net. Of the 26 Wolverine shots, Egyed recorded seven saves.
Chelsea Jackson scored a garbage-time goal for Maryland in the 79th minute as she headed in a corner from Marisa Knott for her ninth goal of the year. Jackson and Jarena Harmon entered the game as the leading scoring duo in the Big Ten, but the Terrapins barely generated other scoring chances on its four total shots.
Maryland (3-9-1, 1-4-0 Big Ten) will look to tighten up their defense and erase a three-game losing streak when they come home to Ludwig Field Thursday to take on Ohio State (7-4-2, 1-2-2 Big Ten) at 7 p.m.
