The last time No. 11 Maryland and No. 7 Washington took the pitch was in the round of 16 of last season’s NCAA tournament. That day, the Huskies shocked the Terps with a 3-1 victory in College Park.
Maryland was unable to get the vengeance it was looking for in Friday’s match, falling to the Huskies, 2-1, in Seattle.
Maryland entered Friday’s fixture coming off two consecutive shutout victories, largely due to improved defending from their revamped backline. The freshman centerback duo of Maxwell Sekyi
and Franklin Affanyi were in good form but faced a tough matchup against Zack Ramsey and the Huskies.
Washington was in good form entering the game as well, riding a seven-game unbeaten streak and sitting on top of the table in the Big Ten in a three-way tie with No. 4 Indiana and No. 8 Michigan State.
Ramsey, the NCAA’s leading goalscorer, had a few touches in the first half, but the Terps held their own. This included a near breakaway for Ramsey as he bypassed Sekyi and Affanyi, but Sekyi closed the gap and cleared the ball.
Inevitably, Ramsey found the back of the net in the 31st minute for his 18th goal of the season.
Alex Hall made a run following the Huskies’ throw-in down the left wing and crossed the ball into the box past Albi Ndrenika and Affanyi. Terps goalkeeper Laurin Mack could only get a hand on the pass as it fell into the lap of Ramsey for an easy score.
The assist was Hall’s sixth of the year, a team-high for the Huskies.
Henry Bernstein looked like the best player on the pitch for the Terps in the first half, being the main catalyst for offensive success during their short stints in possession. Bernstein logged three shots and made multiple runs through the Husky defense.
Despite Maryland outshooting the Huskies 10-5 in the first half, it lacked consistent possession and couldn’t generate dangerous scoring chances, with many of its shots going high. The Terps went into the half with a one-goal deficit.
The Huskies struck again in the 58th minute following a couple of decent looks for the Terps in the opening minutes of the second half.
Egor Akulov sent a ball forward to Callum Lugton, who made a smooth first touch and found Jake Goetting in open space. Goetting made his move, shuffling left and bending a shot to the top-left corner of the net.
Mack had no chance to make a play on the flawless attempt from Goetting, and the Terps found themselves in a two-goal deficit with 30 minutes remaining in the game.
In the 71st minute, Maryland put together its best offensive possession of the game, leading to a Rodrigo Neri goal to cut the Huskies’ lead to one. Clean passes from Bernstein and Ndrenika led to the Neri header goal, his eighth of the season.
Seconds later, the Terps nearly conceded a quick goal as Ramsey found himself on a breakaway, one-on-one with Mack. Ramsey let off the shot low, and Mack made the critical kick save. Mack made another close-range save on Ramsey in the 79th minute, keeping the Terps’ hopes alive in the final 10 minutes.
Despite Mack’s seven-save effort, the Terps couldn’t find the equalizer and lost their fourth Big Ten game of the season. Maryland will end their regular season Wednesday night at Ludwig Field against Penn State.
Three things to know
1. Terps on Mack’s back. Laurin Mack was not the reason for the Terps’ loss on Friday night. The standout junior had his eighth game with five saves or more on the season. The reality for Maryland is that the defense in front of Mack has not performed well enough this season, resulting in them conceding the most goals in the Big Ten.
2. Road woes continue. After being a successful road team in the 2025 season, the Terps have posted a 3-3 road record in 2026, a stark contrast to their 7-1-1 record at Ludwig. It’s likely that the Terps won’t have home seeding in the Big Ten or NCAA tournaments, so they will have to find a way to get their rhythm away from the Crew.
3. Postseason positions. Immediately following Friday’s match, the Huskies are now in sole possession of the top spot in the Big Ten standings with 20 points. The Terps, however, slipped to fifth place after Rutgers 4-1 road victory against No. 8 Michigan State. Maryland’s season finale against Penn State will be an important one as they narrowly lead UCLA and Wisconsin in the standings.
