Maryland women’s soccer was riding high coming into its home finale after securing its first Big Ten win and tallying its first two goals of conference play.
The attacking chances carried over, but the defense struggled, as Iowa rode a first-half offensive onslaught to a two-goal halftime lead. The Terps couldn’t recover, losing 33-11 to the Hawkeyes Friday despite a late-game comeback attempt.
Following a snail-paced start to the game, it didn’t take long for both offenses to burst onto the scene.
Maryland’s first chance came in the ninth minute, as the offense pushed the ball downfield with numbers. Morgan Shannon fired a shot that beat the diving Braelynn Galt, but the ball ricocheted off the post. Peyton Bernard corralled the possession, but failed to log a shot.
Iowa blitzed back with a shot of its own, but the header from Sofia Bush flew just outside the post.
After that miss, the Hawkeyes’ offense took over, and in the 18th minute, it broke through.
Reilly Heman’s first shot was stopped on a spectacular save by Faith Luckey, but the ball bounced right back to Heman, who poked it in for the goal.
Then, in the 24th minute, Berit Parten fired a shot of her own, beating Luckey to double the Hawkeyes’ lead.
Iowa’s offense attempted six shots in the first half, with three shots on goal. The Hawkeyes two goalscorers, Heman and Parten, combined for four of the six shots and all three shots on goal.
After having struggled in Big Ten play, the Hawkeyes seemingly rediscovered their nonconference offensive success that had put them second in the Big Ten in goals scored.
Despite Iowa’s attack having its way throughout the first half, the Terps’ offense had its own flurry of chances.
Jolie Farmer got in on the action in the 14th minute, launching a shot from outside the box. But Galt made the play, punching the ball away from the net.
In the 21st minute, Farmer showed sparks again, beating defenders with a dribble to set up a rocket off her foot that required another great save from Galt. Farmer had two shots on goal in the first half alone, but Maryland also found contributions elsewhere.
Ella Petry had a good chance with space outside the box in the 28th minute, but her shot sailed just high and wide of the pipes.
Then, just over six minutes later, Abigail Stager had a breakaway with only the keeper to beat.
However, Galt proved beating her would be no easy task. She made three saves in the first half, including denying Stager with no help in front of her.
Maryland’s offense attempted six shots in the first half, and spread those attempts throughout the roster. Five different players had at least one shot, even with a quiet first half from Bernard and Mckinley Heaven.
Both offenses slowed down in the second half, especially the Terps’. As Iowa’s defense started to take control of the game, Maryland struggled to find the same offensive volume it mustered in the first half.
The Terps didn’t register a shot in the first 23 minutes of the second half, but on their first attempt of the frame, they broke through.
In the 63rd minute, Mckinley Heaven slotted a smooth pass through the Hawkeyes’ defense, and Ella Bulava fired a shot past Galt to trim the Iowa lead in half.
The goal seemed to jolt the Terps’ offense back into rhythm as they pushed for the equalizer. That equalizer nearly came in the 70th minute, but Bernard’s cross into the box was cleared by the Iowa backline.
Ultimately, Iowa would put the late comeback to an end in the 79th minute. Parten fired a shot past Luckey, who couldn’t make the save to keep the game within reach.
Luckey played strongly in the second half to help aid the initial comeback effort, making two second-half saves, but the first-half hole proved too much to dig out of.
Maryland’s last-gasp offensive push had its final chance in the 85th minute, but Ary Oliver’s shot bounced off the crossbar straight down just inches from crossing the goal line, just barely missing a chance to cut the lead back to one.
Three things to know
- Maryland’s offense is back. After scoring two goals against Northwestern, the Terps’ attack put up another great performance against Iowa. Maryland had nine shots and four shots on goal, and scored its third goal in two games, after having not scored in the Terps’ first seven conference games. Jolie Farmer has rediscovered her early-season form as of late, and her good form has been the engine for Maryland’s newfound success.
- Defense takes a step back. Maryland has been led by its defense, especially over the first two games of their final three-game homestand. Against the Hawkeyes, that script flipped. The Terps gave up 12 shots and looked outmatched by the Iowa attackers all game.
- Goodbye Ludwig Field. With three games left in the 2026 season, the Terps will be on the road for the rest of the season, concluding their games at home. Maryland went 4-5-1 at home this year, with a 1-4-1 record at home in Big Ten play. The Terps will travel to Michigan for its next two games to take on Michigan State and Michigan, and then will finish out its schedule against Rutgers.
