Maryland women’s soccer was able to eke out a potentially important draw on Sunday, tying with Ohio State 1-1.
Maryland’s lone goal came in the 39th minute, while Ohio State’s was in the 49th. Both teams combined for nearly 40 shots, with the Terps racking up 18 on the day (four on goal), compared the Buckeyes’ 20 (eight on goal).
The first 30 or so minutes of the first half were relatively uneventful, which was good news for Maryland given how Friday’s match was dominated by Penn State. But for the most part, both defenses did a good job of limiting chances, while the offenses were still trying to find their footing.
Maryland was able to change that, though, in the 39th minute when freshman Emily McNesby scored her first career goal as a Terp. The ball was played deep into the Ohio State zone by defender Niven Hegeman, where forward Jarena Harmon was able to run it down and win the ball away from an Ohio State defender and dish it to McNesby for the easy put-in to make it 1-0 heading to the half.
GOOOOOAAAALLLL!
— Maryland W. Soccer (@TerpsWSoccer) October 14, 2018
Emily McNeby nets her first collegiate goal on a dish from Jarena Harmon! #Terps take a 1-0 leaad in Columbus. pic.twitter.com/m8EjM5zoo6
It wasn’t long into the second half before Ohio State found its equalizer, tying the game at 1-1 in the 49th minute. After an aggressive tackle by midfielder Hope Lewandoski, the Buckeyes were awarded a free kick from just outside the box. Ohio State’s leading goal scorer, Izzy Rodriguez, stepped up to the spot and hit a virtually perfect ball, hooking across the goal and clanging off the inside post and in to tie the game at 1-1.
But the rest of the half came and went without either team able to go ahead. While it appeared that Ohio State was getting more quality scoring chances than Maryland, the Terps outshot the Buckeyes 7-5, giving them a 14-12 lead for the match. However, none of those shots were converted by either side, so the teams went to overtime.
The first overtime period began with Ohio State nearly ending the game, but goalkeeper Rachel Egyed, as she has all season, denied the opportunity to keep the game alive. While Maryland was unable to register a shot, the Buckeyes had a few good chances to win the game but couldn’t finish as a second overtime was needed to decide this one.
Much like the first overtime, Ohio State was the aggressor again, as on several occasions the Buckeyes nearly ended the match with a game-winning goal. But the Maryland defense was able to keep the high-powered Buckeyes offense scoreless once again, ending the match at a 1-1 draw.
Maryland’s penultimate match of the season will be held on Thursday, as the Terps take on Michigan in Ann Arbor at 7 p.m. ET.
Three things to know
- Maryland certainly could have won this match. Although Ohio State probably should’ve scored on one of the many chances it had in this match, the Buckeyes’ only goal came off the incredible free kick by Rodriguez. Had that not gone in, the Terps would simply have needed to hold off Ohio State to get the 1-0 win.
- Maryland earned an important point with the draw. With the draw, the Terps find themselves with eight points on the Big Ten conference table, which should put them within spitting distance of the No. 8 seed in the conference tournament. They need wins in their next two games to have a chance, though.
- Alyssa Poarch was a huge part of the offense. This match was by far Poarch’s most active of the season, as the freshman totaled a game-high seven shots, with one being on goal. Poarch has showed her potential as a scorer multiple times this season, and her willingness to take shots is something that a team that struggles to score can really benefit from.