Maryland women’s soccer eliminated from postseason contention with 2-1 loss to Michigan

Maryland women’s soccer couldn’t get the win it needed on Thursday night, losing to Michigan 2-1. This means the Terps will once again miss the eight-team Big Ten tournament and that Sunday’s home game will be their last of the season.

Maryland was thoroughly outshot by the Wolverines attack, with Michigan getting 22 shots and 14 shots on goal, compared to Maryland’s seven shots with three on goal. Michigan’s goals came in the 53rd and 67th minutes, with Maryland’s lone goal coming in the 47th minute. Goalkeeper Rachel Egyed tallied an incredible 12 saves, but it wasn’t enough.

Michigan was dominating Maryland through the first 15 minutes of the match, earning three shots on goal and controlling most of the possession during that period. Egyed was forced to make several impressive saves in the early going just to keep the game level.

The Wolverines were gashing the Maryland defense over and over, totaling 11 shots and six shots on goal by the half. The Terps’ offense was shut down for the most part, but did manage three shots and one shot on goal. But the efforts of Egyed kept it scoreless, with the teams going into the half tied at 0-0.

The second half started with a surprise, as Maryland was able to get one past Michigan goalkeeper Hillary Beall to make the score 1-0 in the 47th minute. Maryland earned a corner after possessing in the Michigan zone for most of the first three minutes, and after the corner landed in a mix of forwards and defenders, forward Alyssa Poarch was able to find the ball and sneak it past the keeper to make it 1-0.

It didn’t take long for Michigan to respond, though, scoring in the 54th minute to tie the score at 1-1. The goal came off a low and short cross from Nikki Hernandez from the right side of the box that snuck past Egyed and found Meredith Haackenson, who was able to put it away.

Michigan wasn’t finished either, scoring the go-ahead goal 13 minutes after their first goal, making the score 2-1 in the 67th minute. Like many of their chances from this match, the Wolverine forwards had success outrunning Maryland defenders and receiving through balls into the box for shots on goal. On this occasion, it was Jackie White connecting with Sarah Staratigakis for the goal.

The rest of the match, like the first half, was dominated by Michigan’s attack, threatening to extend the lead even further. Although they likely could have increased the margin to three or four to one, they still had trouble getting past Egyed and were held scoreless the rest of the game. But Maryland’s attack never really possessed the ball for long enough to find a great opportunity, and the match ended 2-1.

Maryland’s final game of the season will be held Sunday at Ludwig Field, as the Terps meet Indiana at 2 p.m. ET to close out the year.

Three Things to Know

1. This loss eliminated Maryland from Big Ten tournament contention. The Terps entered Thursday night with a route to a postseason berth, but needed wins in each of their last two games to do so. They still have a game left to play on Sunday, but winning it won’t do anything but get them a little higher in the final Big Ten standings and close the season on a relative high note.
2. Michigan could’ve won this game by much more. In its most important game of the season, Maryland’s defense was gashed again and again by the Michigan attack, with the only thing stopping the Wolverines from scoring more being the fantastic play of Egyed and the crossbar. Maryland’s lucky that the score was just 2-1.
3. Rachel Egyed set a new career high in saves. Despite the match not going Maryland’s way, the silver lining is that Egyed put together another masterful performance in what has been an all-conference year for the senior. With 12 saves, Egyed set a new career high, doing so in what will be her second-to-last game as a Terp.