Men's soccer wasn't the only Terrapin team in action Friday night. Across campus, the volleyball team took on the University of Missouri - Kansas City Kangaroos in the Terps' home opener. In Norfolk, the second ranked Terps took on the eight ranked Old Dominion Monarchs and on the west coast, the fifteenth ranked women's soccer team faced off against Santa Clara. It wasn't quite a clean sweep. Volleyball used all five sets to down UMKC, field hockey took care of business downing ODU 3-0 but women's soccer suffered their first loss of the season dropping a 1-0 decision in California.
Let's start at home. In a closely contested first set, the Terrapins and the Kangaroos played through the first twenty-six points with neither team able to gain an advantage larger than two points and each time it was the visitors who pulled ahead with the Terps reeling them back in. Trailing 14-13, Maryland ran off six of the next seven points to edge out to a 19-15 advantage and take the largest lead of the set. This time it was UMKC's turn to rally and they did so convincingly taking ten of twelve points to win the set by a 25-21 score.
The second set was much the same. The teams played evenly early with the Kangaroos edging out to an 11-9 advantage but the Terps able to come back to tie the score at eleven and take the lead at 13-12 on a kill by Mary Cushman. The match stayed tight but Maryland was able to push the margin to three when they took a 17-14 lead. The Terps had another late lead at 22-20 but strong serving and some attack errors by Maryland let the visitors close out set number two with a 25-23 win.
However, as Ole Miss learned last Saturday, there's no quit in this Terrapin team. Led by five kills each from Mary Cushman and Ashleigh Crutcher, the Terps took set three by a 25-21 final. Maryland didn't make it easy on themselves, though. With the score tied at eleven, the Terps found some rhythm with freshman setter Julia Anderson picking up four assists in a sequence that allowed the Terrapins to run out to a 22-15 lead. The Terps couldn't stand prosperity and the Kangaroos closed to within three at 23-20. However, sophomore Amy Dion found preseason All ACC performer Ashleigh Crutcher for two kills to close the set by a 25-21 final.
Taking energy from the third set win, the home team dominated the fourth set. Trailing 2-1, Maryland tied the score on a kill by junior Adreene Elliott and took the lead on a Kanagaroos attack error. Though they would tie the score twice more at three and six, the visitors would not lead again in the set or the match. With the match tied at six, the Terps began to slowly pull away stretching the lead to two then to three at 14-11. From this point it was all Maryland as the Terps closed out the set on an 11-2 run.
If the Terps took energy from the third set into the fourth, they carried momentum from the fourth to the fifth. With Anderson picking up five more assists and Crutcher four more kills - including an emphatic match ending kill Maryland completed the comeback cruising to a 15-6 final set win. Asked about the difference in the last three sets as opposed to the first two, Coach Tim Horsmon said, "We grew up a little bit tonight. We stopped making some unforced errors and poor decisions. If we can continue to play like this we'll win our fair share of matches."
Statistically, Cushman and Crutcher each had double doubles for the Terps with Crutcher leading the team with eighteen kills followed by Cushman's fifteen. The two flipped on the defensive side with Cushman being credited with 24 digs while Crutcher added 12. Libero Sarah Harper led the team with 34 digs. Adreene Elliott, another preseason All ACC performer added 14 kills and Emily Fraik also reached double figures with 12 to give Maryland good balance. The Terps were also well balanced in the assist column. Anderson led the way with 29 with Dion close behind at 23. Maryland continues their home opening weekend with two matches Saturday. The first at 1:30 against LIU-Brooklyn and the second at 7:30 against Penn. Tailgaters and folks who park near Comcast Center are invited to stop by the Pavilion before and or after the Terps take on ODU in Byrd.
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Like their male counterparts, the Maryland women's soccer team got off to a rough start on their California trip falling to Santa Clara by a 1-0 final. Looking at the play by play and game summaries, it appears that the Broncos were the aggressor early. They scored the only goal of the match in the thirteenth minute on a solo drive down the field past three Terrapin defenders before finding the back of the net. According to Coach Jonathan Morgan, one of Maryland's goals for the season is to allow no more than ten shots per game. For the half, the Broncos outshot the Terps 10-3.
Neither team seemed to mount much of an attack in the second half. The Terps manage two corner kicks and four shots - none of which were on goal. The Broncos goalkeeper finished the game without a save. The Terps ended the game yielding 15 shot attempts with Maryland goalkeeper Rachelle Beanlands securing four saves. Next up for Maryland, a trip to Palo Alto to tackle the fourth ranked Stanford Cardinal.
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Finally, in Norfolk, Maryland's second ranked field hockey team faced perennial powerhouse and eighth ranked Old Dominion. The Monarchs drew the first penalty corner of the game in the seventh minute but the Terrapin defense was up to the task and the Monarchs failed to get a shot. In the fourteenth minute, sophomore Alyssa Parker rapped two shots at the cage but was unable to get them past goaltender Megan Hept. However, Hept failed to control either shot and Anna Dessoye - another Terrapin sophomore - continued her hot early season play by scoring on the second rebound. The goal was Dessoye's third of the young season but the sophomore wasn't quite done. Taking a pass from Jill Witmer, Dessoye got herself in position and scored again to gove Maryland a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
The story of the second half belonged largely to Maryland's goaltender Natalie Hunter. Hunter, who had three saves in the first half, added seven in the second - including a series of four in just over two minutes of play - as the Monarchs scrambled to try to get back in the game. The ten total saves represent a new career high for the senior from New Jersey. The Terps were far from passive firing off eight shots of their own seven of which were on goal. ODU's goalie saved six but in the sixty-seventh minute, senior tri-captain Ali McEvoy discovered that persistence pays. After having her first attempt on a penalty corner insertion by Dessoye saved, she shot again. The shot was saved again. But another rebound gave McEvoy another chance and the third time was the charm as she notched the final goal of the game as the Terps left Norfolk on the long end of a 3-0 score. Maryland returns to College Park on Sunday for their home opener taking on the seventeenth ranked Drexel Dragons. Drexel is the third ranked opponent in the Terrapins first four games. The game is scheduled for a two pm start.