Maryland women’s soccer falls at Minnesota, 3-0

Maryland women’s soccer was dominated on both ends of the field on Friday night, losing to Minnesota 3-0.

Minnesota controlled the game pretty handily from start to finish this match, outshooting Maryland 18-5, with shots on goal shaking out in favor of the Gophers as well at 7-0. The Gopher goals were spread out across both 45-minute frames, coming in the 33rd, 47th, and 77th minutes.

Neither team could convincingly get the upper hand in the early going, as both teams did a good job of getting a foot in the way of the shots each team took on goal. Maryland was able to find a few near-opportunities, but those were shut down by the Gopher defense. Nevertheless, it was an encouraging sign early from the Terp attack.

Minnesota would break the draw in the 33rd minute with a goal from senior midfielder Molly Fiedler. The ball entered play off of a throw-in which landed at the feet of Fiedler, who turned and took the ball towards goal and sent a knuckler at goalkeeper Rachel Egyed that bounced off her hand and into the goal. Although Egyed was able to get a hand on the ball, she appeared to struggle to read the direction of the ball given the unorthodox spin. Either way, the Maryland defense broke down and Minnesota went up 1-0 heading into the half.

It was just two minutes into the second half when the Gophers were able to further extend their lead, making it a 2-0 game in the 47th minute. Senior forward April Bockin controlled the ball near the corner flag, whipping the ball into the box and hitting Makenzie Langdok a few feet away from goal where she calmly slid it past Egyed. Malikae Dayes was marking Langdok, but lost her balance once the ball came in, freeing up Langdok for the goal.

Minnesota stayed relentless throughout the rest of the period, threatening on multiple occasions to stretch their lead further. That moment came in the 77th minute, when a slow roller was put on goal by Minnesota’s Megan Gray that gently bounced toward Egyed. When Egyed went to scoop up the ball, it slipped out of her arms and through her legs to make the score 3-0.

The Gophers remained aggressive through the rest of the match, although it was clear they have the result in hand. Much like most of game played out, Minnesota was able to control the ball and ease the game to an end at 3-0.

Maryland will have a quick two day lay off before getting back into action on Sunday, as they will stay across the country to meet Wisconsin at 2:00 p.m.

Three things to know

1. Maryland didn’t register a shot on goal. While we’ve seen our share of rough performances from the Maryland attack, Friday might have been a low point for the season. The Terps totaled only five shots for the whole game, with the zero shots on goal really being indicative of how this game went down. It was an out-of-sync night for a group that has struggled at times this season.
2. It was a rough game for Rachel Egyed as well. Although Egyed has had a record-setting senior season, this game will definitely be one to forget for her. Two of the three goals allowed by her tonight were ones that she typically would handle without a problem, but something was just off with the goalkeeping. Hopefully she’s capable of shaking off this tough performance and rebounding on Sunday.
3. The defense was exhausted in this match. With Minnesota controlling the ball as much as they did this game, it’s not shocking they were able to put three goals up on the Terps. It was a truly difficult night for the Maryland offense, simply not being able to withstand the pressure from the Minnesota defense, forcing the Terp defenders to work harder than usual. It’s likely fatigue played a role in goals the Gophers were able to put away.