After many close calls against Maryland women’s soccer, James Madison’s Ginny Lackey would no longer be denied. On a long run, Jordan Yang broke through a challenge by Ella Bulava and chipped a pass around the diving goalkeeper Faith Luckey into the welcoming foot of Lackey, who tapped the ball into an open net.
This goal served as the decider as the Terps fell, 1-0, to the Dukes in Harrisonburg, Virginia in a close, clean matchup.
The match kicked off with a bang as Delaney DeMartino booted the ball
deep into James Madison territory. Passing was an early struggle for the Dukes. They made many early blunders on potential scoring opportunities as a Lackey pass was nabbed at the boots of Alyssa Abramson.
The match continued its slow pace as both teams failed to make meaningful opportunities outside their own halves. A weak low pass from the foot of Ellie Farrell sailed offline and was easily deflected by Luckey in the 11th minute. Another shot by Farrell missed well high three minutes later, and a shot by Lackey followed suit.
After Lackey’s goal, Kelsey Smith was nearly able to strike back four minutes later, juking two defenders and firing a long shot directly at goalkeeper Lili White.
But the match returned to its original tone after that shot, with further off-target shots coming from James Madison. Smith continued to wreak havoc down the left sideline for Maryland but was left alone as no teammate was there to receive a cross. James Madison ultimately outshot the Terps in the first half, 8-1.
Smith embarked on another signature run right out of halftime, launching Maryland’s first convincing attack of the night. However, her efforts were quickly stifled, and the methodical rhythm of the match returned for the next 25 minutes.
Despite subbing in five players early in the second half, Marchiano’s Terps were unable to get any progress on offense.
The Dukes did not get out of the rockfight unblemished. An unsportsmanlike yellow card was given to Lizzie Gillen, and Jaimie Swartz went down and left the pitch in the 75th minute after a Tahirah Turnage-Morales challenge resulted in Swartz twisting her ankle over the ball.
Maryland’s second shot of the game came in the 77th minute off yet another run from Smith, resulting in a high-lofted shot that launched over the crossbar. A multitude of offensive opportunities were cleared by Maryland’s backline, but couldn’t be converted offensively.
A corner kick in the final couple of minutes was the last opportunity the Terps could muster, as the score remained unchanged as time expired in James Madison’s shutout win.
Three things to know
- Outshot once again. Maryland has been outshot in each of its losses, and this match was no different. Outshot 15-2, the Terps failed to make any offensive opportunities that translated to shots on goal. This regression to trends from 2024 squad needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later.
- Smith was a one-woman show. Smith was able to successfully beat multiple defenders on the outside on many instances Thursday, but was unable to create a shot. The reason was simple: she outran her own team. Maryland’s attack must acknowledge this trend and create further opportunities by getting players into the box before Smith runs out of space on the left side.
- Conference play is here. After this loss, the Terps take a weeklong break until Sept. 11. When they return, they will face off against a nationally-ranked Big Ten opponent in Penn State. Coming in with a 4-3 record, Maryland enters conference play with a lot of unknowns and unanswered questions.
