Maryland women’s soccer falls at James Madison, 3-0

Maryland women’s soccer was overmatched by James Madison on Sunday, as the Terps suffered their first loss of the season by a score of 3-0.

Although the teams seemed evenly matched for most of the first half, JMU got on the board first nearly 41 minutes in. The Dukes added another goal in the 54th minute and one more in the 88th minute, with the game all but over.

The Terps got out to another good start offensively, controlling possession in the attacking zone for most of the first 10 minutes of the match, resulting in two early shots but no goals. Things slowly began to turn for James Madison, though, as they began to string together several solid attacks on goal throughout the rest of the half.

The Dukes finally broke through in the 41st minute with a tap-in goal by Abby Maltese, her first career goal. Junior forward Haley Crawford received the ball deep down the Maryland sideline, by carefully working her way up the goal line was able to draw out goalkeeper Erin Seppi before dropping it off to Maltese to place it in the back of the net.

James Madison remained composed on offense through the halftime break, continuing to get the ball deep into Maryland territory. Despite subbing in senior Rachel Egyed for Seppi at the half, the Terps eventually broke again from the constant pressure, allowing James Madison to get its second goal just nine minutes into the second half.

Although only down two goals, the game felt out of reach for the majority of the second half based on how dominant James Madison was at controlling possession and melting time off the clock. In the 88th minute, with Crawford just maintaining possession in the attacking zone to run the clock out, the Terp defense was caught napping and forward Ginger Deel was able to get a third goal past the Maryland defense.

The Terps were able to manufacture some opportunities on goal, getting off 10 shots and placing six on goal. But many of their attempts were either deep shots from outside the box that JMU goalkeeper Hannah McShea handled with ease, or contested volleys that just didn’t bounce their way.

Maryland will play Appalachian State on Friday for its home opener.

Three things to know

1. Maryland’s undefeated non-conference streak comes to an end. Dating back to last season, Maryland had been perfect against non-conference opponents, going 7-0-1 leading into Sunday’s game. That streak came to an end as the Terps struggled both offensively and defensively.
2. Rachel Egyed made her first appearance of 2018. After receiving All-Big Ten honors in 2017, the senior found herself on the bench for the first two games of this season, with head coach Ray Leone starting junior Erin Seppi. However, Egyed was subbed in at halftime of Sunday’s match, making two saves and allowing two goals. Leone’s goalkeeper rotation will be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
3. Maryland’s offense needs to get it going. The key reason for the Terps going winless in their final six games of 2017 was the lack of offensive production. Having success against non-conference opponents will be important heading into Big Ten play, and if the offensive inefficiency from this match continues, it could lead to another multi-game slide.