Maryland women's soccer scores 5 times, cruises to win over Yale

After scoring 4 goals in their past 5 games, the Terps women's soccer team scored 5 times Sunday against Yale, winning 5-1 and nearly doubling their goal total on the season.

Alex Anthony spearheaded the attack, assisting the Terps' first goal and scoring their second, and adding another in the 70th minute. Anthony's assist came much earlier, in the 11th, when she played a ball back to Sarah Molina, who struck it first time from about 10 yards out. Molina's shot ricocheted off the inside of the right post and in, giving the Terps a 1-0 lead and Molina her first goal of the season.

Anthony's goals were her 5th and 6th of the season, and they pushed the scoreline to 2-0 in the 33rd minute, and 4-1 in the 70th. The goals looked similar, coming soon after Shannon Collins corner kicks that led to the keeper making plays on the ball. Anthony got her own rebound for the first goal, after her initial shot took a deflection toward Yale goalkeeper Rachel Ames. Ames stopped it and came forward to try to recollect the ball, but Anthony beat her there and managed to poke it in.

It was Collins who put the ball in the Keeper's hands in the 70th, and once again Ames couldn't hold on, and once again Anthony was there to score it from very close range. Collins was credited for the assist on Anthony's second goal, while Anthony's first was unassisted.

Between Anthony's goals, Gabby Galanti and Yale's Sofia Griff scored, and both did so from distance. Galanti's was a long, chipped shot from the right side of the field to the far post in the 35th minute. "I saw the goalie was off her line and the back post was open," Galanti said, "so I chipped it over her."

Griff's came in the 55th minute, during what head coach Jonathan Morgan called a "mental break" for the Terps; Griff was given quite a bit of time on ball centered at the edge of the 18-yard box, and she fired into the upper-right corner past keeper Rachel Egyed.

Egyed, the Terps' backup goalkeeper, played all of Thursday's match, and the second half of Sunday's. Senior starter Rachelle Beanlands was held out with a back injury Thursday, but played the first half today, and her departure was not health-related. "We want to get Rachel minutes, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so," Morgan said, referring to the team's 3-0 halftime lead.

Maryland's fifth goal also came from a corner kick, this time in the 79th minute. The ball dribbled out to Hope Gouterman, who struck the ball from the top of the box into the back of the net, despite Ames getting a hand on it. Three of Maryland's goals were the results of corner kicks, a breakthrough after going 0-for-13 on corner kicks Thursday. "We got some pretty good delivery on the corner kicks," Morgan said, "and the players made the runs they're supposed to."

The Terps took 30 shots Sunday, the most since their 9-0 win over the Citadel in 2013, in which Maryland took 34 shots. Yale had 10 shots, and rarely pressured the Terrapin backline. Alex Anthony led with 13 shots and 6 shots on goal. 13 different Terps went for goal, and many of their efforts were on target. 13 of the team's 30 shots were on goal, another improvement over Thursday, when the team had 14 shots, but only 3 on target.

Anthony pointed out the team's improved accuracy. Both Gouterman and Galanti scored on their only shots of the game, and Sarah Molina's goal was one of her 2 shots. Anthony and Morgan both said the team improved their concentration on Sunday. "I think we were a lot more focused in our attack," Anthony said, explaining that the team's mindset changed from Thursday.

Maryland (5-3) will need to maintain that focus for their next game Friday against Rutgers, their first Big Ten matchup of 2015. Rutgers is 7-0 on the season, and has not allowed a goal all year. The game will be streamed on BTN Plus.