For the first 60 minutes of Maryland women’s soccer’s game against Michigan, the Terps’ opponents dominated. Michigan imposed its will on the offensive end, fooling defenders and shooting accurately to rack up a huge four-goal lead.
All seemed lost for Maryland. But after two quick goals, the Terps were right back in the mix.
Maryland continued to press into the 79th minute, when Kelsey Smith launched a rocket to the left side of the goal. Michigan goalkeeper Sophie Homan completely botched the save,
with an easy scoop bouncing free across the middle of the box.
With the game in the balance, Gemma Davitian flew into frame. She sent the ball into the net for Maryland’s third goal, cutting the lead all the way down to one.
Maryland women’s soccer mounted an impressive comeback attempt on Thursday night, scoring three goals late in the second half. But in the end, the Terps came up short of the draw as they lost to Michigan, 4-3.
In her second start of the season, Maryland forward Eva Mowery put the game into touch. Possession was briefly ceded to the Wolverines, but the Terps got it back after a weak cross attempt was scooped by Faith Luckey.
It wouldn’t take long for Michigan to get another chance, as Lilley Bosley sent a long cross to the left foot of Vickie Jones. Jones one-touched her shot, which redirected off of Mia Mitchell past a diving Luckey to put the Wolverines up in the 3rd minute. Mitchell appeared disoriented in the box, almost unaware that a shot was coming her way.
Attempting to shake off the goal, the Terps drove back. A pair of shots from Lisa Mcintyre were denied by Michigan’s defensive blocking. A brief stoppage in the 13th minute after Mcintyre’s second shot was redirected off the hand of Ellie Fife; after reviewing the tape, officials deemed the handball as non-intentional contact and resumed play.
Maryland earned a dangerous free kick in the 18th minute after a Wolverine defender shoved Kelsey Smith down the left side. Ava Morales pummeled the ball on-frame, but it was nabbed by a leaping Homan as it arced toward the left corner.
Just after, Michigan’s Elle Ervin attempted to respond. Her shot, which came just a few yards away from the goal, clanked hard off the left post.
The Terps were finally displaying offensive intent, though. A left footed shot from Smith in the 25th minute curled right into Homan’s cradle, marking the third shot for Maryland and tying the team’s overall shot total from its match in Nebraska.
As the match continued, Marchiano briefly moved Smith into a hybrid-midfield role, a huge diversion from her normal spot left wing. However, a missed pass and giveaway in the 28th and 30th minutes respectively were reason enough to return her to the frontline.
The Wolverines maintained their 1-0 lead going into halftime, as Mitchell’s misfortune made all the difference. The teams were even on shots with five apiece, but with only two saves in the first half, Luckey’s role had been far more relaxing compared to her four previous performances.
That immediately changed in the second half, however. The Wolverines’ Ella Jablinskey drove down the right side in the 47th minute, sending a bending cross right in front of Luckey. Ervin broke free from the backline and tapped the ball awkwardly past Luckey’s dive to extend Michgan’s lead to two.
A minute later, the Wolverines quickly regained possession after kickoff. Senior winger Jenna Lang pressed hard down the left side, flustering Tayron Raibon as she entered the box. Lang then drove a low shot directly at Luckey’s feet. The goalkeeper failed to corral the ball, which rebounded off her knee into the back of the net.
Raibon booted the ball hard in celebration, as the match seemed all but over. However, Maryland’s offense began to get restless.
In the 60th minute, Alyssa Abramsom jockeyed for position down the left flank. She then fired a cross to Delaney DeMartino, whose header missed well high. A pair of low shots a minute later also failed to find nylon for the Terps.
But Luckey was still being pressed in goal — she jumped up to cut off a high, lofted cross in the 64th minute and was awkwardly forced to the grass. Luckey remained down for over a minute, clearly shaken.
The Terps’ goalkeeper was tested again in the 67th minute as Gabrielle Prych received an errant header from Tahirah Turnage-Morales. As the ball arced, Prych and Luckey both bounded to make the play. Prych was the victor, heading the ball over Luckey to extend Michigan’s lead to four goals.
Finally, Maryland started to charge back. Just a minute after conceding, a touch pass from DeMartino was sent to Smith, who curled the ball hard past Homan for her fifth goal of the season.
And just two minutes later, the Terps netted another, this time from the left boot of Morales. She received the ball off a ricochet in the box, driving to her left before sliding her shot low to cut the deficit in half.
With Davitian’s score, Maryland found new energy. After their three abrupt scores, a result looked in sight — but the clock kept ticking.
A shot from Davitian in the 88th minute which would have knotted things missed agonizingly high from close-range. Despite the huge effort, a late corner for Michigan sealed Maryland’s fate, and its impressive comeback attempt fell just short as the clock hit zero.
Three things to know
1. “Gutted.” Down by four goals, it would have been easy for Maryland to simply accept the loss. However, the Terps pushed back fervently, scoring three quick goals and nearly escaping with a draw. Instead, the team was left disappointed.
“They’re gutted,” said Marchiano post match. “They’re disappointed that we dug ourselves a hole tonight and they should be. This is a big game and we lost. Nothing that anyone’s going to say is going to make them feel better about that.”
2. Quick strike killers. Maryland’s loss tonight was largely due to Michigan’s rapid fire goals at the outset of each half, disorienting the Terps and making a comeback highly unlikely.
“We started the game poorly and we made some individual errors that led to [the loss],” said Marchiano. “If we can play that way and eliminate some individual errors, I’d be quite happy.
3. Return of the shots. Maryland and Michigan tied in the shot department Thursday, with each team taking 14. This could be a positive for the Terps to take home after failing to reach double-digit shots since their win against Indiana.
