By: Henry Quach
Maryland was once again shut out, despite Thursday morning’s coaching change. The Terps fell 5-0 to No. 20 Penn State, at Ludwig Field.
The Terps started the game with early momentum pressuring Penn State’s defense. Maryland earned the first corner in the eighth minute but couldn’t capitalize on a very threatening ball crossed into the box.
Maryland’s scoring chance shocked Penn State’s offense into gear as they increased their pressure on the Terps defense. Soon after, the Terps defense would face disaster into the box as Penn State’s Kaitlyn MacBean took advantage of the mistake giving her side a 1-0 advantage in the 18th minute.
The Terps defense was tested again in the 38th minute. Penn State’s attacking move looked promising but several Terps defenders joined to make a team block, keeping the score at 1-0.
Maryland out-shot the Nittany Lions by one (5-4) in the first half, but none of those five attempts were put on goal. Despite the shot advantage, Maryland played an undisciplined half committing four penalties to Penn State’s two.
The second half started similarly to the first as the Terps showed strong attacking momentum in hopes of finding the equalizer.
However, Maryland would soon lose the momentum.
Penn State doubled their lead in the 52nd minute on a dangerous corner that left the Terps defense in shock. Penn State’s Bella Ayscue whipped in a dangerous ball into the box that was headed in strongly by Penn State’s Molly Martin, leaving Maryland with a 2-0 deficit.
Senior goalkeeper Liz Beardsley earned her first save in the 56th minute, then minutes later, Beardsley kept the Terps from falling deeper into trouble notching another save in the 60th minute.
The Terps defense weathered a flurry of shots and a scramble that ensued inside the box but despite the pressure the Terps defense stood their mark and defended the scramble to not fall onto a bigger disadvantage.
Beardsley was able to earn her third save in the 70th minute during that flurry of Penn State attempts.
“Honestly, … when it doesn’t end up in the back of the net, like it’s a confidence booster,” Beardsley said.
The momentum stayed with Penn State as they continued to pressure the Terps defense and despite a save by Beardsley in the 77th minute, Penn State took advantage of a rebound and would triple their lead in the 77th minute, leaving Maryland in a 3-0 deficit.
The Terps continued fighting in hopes of cutting into the deficit but disaster struck again for Maryland in the 80th minute as the Terps allowed a fourth score.
Penn State capped off its night scoring a fifth time in the final minute of the game completing a dominant second half.
The Nittany Lions ended the game with 17 shots (11 on goal) to Maryland’s nine shots (1 on goal). Both teams ended the game with five corner opportunities each.
Maryland’s discipline continued its poor showing as they accounted for nine of the 14 fouls in the game.
Maryland interim head coach Michael Marchiano acknowledged the difficulties associated with the coaching change, but he remains optimistic heading into season’s end.
“It’s been a tough day — tough couple of days — for our girls,” Marchiano said. “I think for large parts of the game tonight, they represented themselves and this program really well, and we’ll try to build on the game,”
Maryland hopes to bounce back in its 2024 home finale. The Terps faced off against Nebraska at 1 pm on Sunday.
