By Henry Quach
Maryland women’s soccer earned its first Big Ten point of the season on Thursday evening. Goalkeeper Liz Beardsley and the Terps defense faced constant pressure from Northwestern, but held strong for the 0-0 draw in Evanston.
The Wildcats offense pushed the pace from kickoff.
Northwestern registered four total shots in the first 21 minutes, forcing Beardsley to make two saves. The Maryland shot stopper later stepped up to make another in the 39th minute, giving her three total saves in the opening half.
On the other end of the field, the Terps’ offense couldn’t get any momentum to breakdown Northwestern’s defensive pressure.
Maryland struggled to play the ball out of its own half of the field during the first 45 minutes. Not only did the Terps fail to tally a shot, but they also didn’t win any corners.
The Wildcats, on the other hand, took eight total shots from five corners and a host of open-play chances. Yet, the contest remained goalless at the break.
A more creative Maryland put together a better showing in the second half, but it didn’t happen immediately.
“To get points in this league, especially on the road,” coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer said. “We spoke about fighting, we spoke about being one, and they did a much better job in the second half.”
Northwestern once again started the half on the front foot, taking a pair of on-target shots in the 48th minute. Thankfully for the Terps, Beardsley was equal to both attempts, keeping the game at a standstill.
The Wildcats took three more shots — all off target — before Maryland finally fired its first attempt in the 68th minute. What followed was one of the Terps’ most promising attacking periods of the conference season so far.
Between the 73rd and 78th minutes, Maryland outshot the Wildcats 5-3. The Terps tallied the majority of that total during a four-shot barrage.
Ava Morales and Eva Mowery both put shots on-goal to force a pair of saves from Northwestern goalkeeper Reiley Fitzpatrick. Those were Maryland’s only two on-target efforts of the match.
The Wildcats capped off the 12 minutes of the match with four shots, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Beardsley only needed to make one save from that collection of Northwestern attempts, finishing off her heroic evening with eight saves.
Despite their marginal attacking improvements in the second half, the Terps were still out-shot 12-6 over the final 45 minutes.
“We gotta be more dangerous in the final third, we gotta be able to make some more passes, have a little bit more composure and be a little more confident,” Ryan Nemzer said. “We have the players that can do, and the team that can do that going into Sunday.”
The Terps continue their road trip this weekend, staying in Illinois as they travel south to Urbana-Champaign, where they’ll square off against the Fighting Illini. Maryland is still in search of its first conference win, and goal, of the season.
