Through much of the match, Maryland women’s soccer was locked in a backline stalemate against one of the nation’s premier soccer powerhouses. But the defensive standoff had to end sooner or later.
Bella
Winn received the ball in the left corner of the 18-yard box, loaded her right leg, and snuck a long shot past the left-diving Faith Luckey. The ball met nylon as it drew left inside the top-right corner to put the Bruins up one in the 71st minute.
That lead held for the remainder of the game, as UCLA bested the Terps Sunday afternoon, 1-0, in a hard-fought defensive battle.
The Terps stole possession at Annenberg Field in the first minute. Kelsey Smith’s efforts were nullified by a horde of Bruins in the box, as the ball dribbled out of bounds off her boot.
Maryland maintained a majority of possession early, making three separate drives in the opening 10 minutes. Its backline held strong too, thwarting multiple cross attempts from Jordan Geis and Oruha Hayashi in the 12th minute.
The midfield battle continued, with neither team making a meaningful run through the first 20 minutes. Missed crosses occurred on both sides as head coach Michael Marchiano loudly shouted from the sideline, never taking a seat.
The first decent shot of the match occurred in the 23rd minute, but was quickly handled by Luckey. Minutes later, UCLA head coach Margueritte Aozasa made three offensive swaps to bolster her frontline.
The Bruins dominated corner kicks early, but continued to opt for conservative short passes rather than a big cross.
Maryland’s defense continued to shine, with UCLA unable to crack the wall of Terps in the box. An opportunity for UCLA was stifled by Lisa Mcintyre in the 34th minute after she blocked a strong shot from Grace Shank. Another chance was stymied five minutes later as Tayron Raibon blocked a try from Laila Idris.
Luckey continued to shine as well, as a cross from Payten Cooper in the 41st minute was nabbed on a risky dive.
Maryland finally regained offensive control with two minutes left in the half. The ball was tapped around midfield before Smith fielded a through ball, which she passed over to Delaney Demartino. Demartino then returned the ball to Smith, who launched the ball just high of the net.
The match remained scoreless at half, with the Terps returned to their locker room relatively unscathed against a nationally ranked opponent.
Maryland came out of the locker room strong with another drive into Bruin territory but quickly turned the ball over. UCLA then launched a dangerous attack, with a stellar shot from Lily Boyden nabbed by Luckey in the 48th minute.
A few excellent UCLA passes in the 53rd minute drove it past Maryland’s backline, and Kara Croone banged the ball into the goal off of a rebounded save from Luckey. But the Bruins were called for their fifth offsides infraction of the match, and the score was disallowed after review.
The action then slowed as the battle in the midfield returned to the narrative. Tension grew in the air as Marchiano rose from his seat and shouted for his forwards to “find the open space.”
Despite a drive from UCLA’s frontline, Maryland’s defense would not fold. The Bruins maintained possession near Maryland’s box for over a minute. They could only muster a single, skied shot, off the boot of Shank in the 65th minute.
The pressure continued after Winns goal as a Hayashi shot from close range was masterfully denied by Demartino on the goal line just a minute later.
Boyden received a yellow card after shoving Eva Mowery to the turf in the 81st minute, as Maryland was awarded a corner kick. The kick was redirected by the head of Alyssa Abramson, but was scooped by goalkeeper Daphne Nakfoor.
Despite the giveaway, Luckey continued to shine, logging her fifth save of the match on a low-driven shot from Winn in the 89th minute.
As the clock struck zero, the Terps held their heads high. They left California winless, but were able to give a top-five team a run for their money.
Three things to know
1. Shut out in California. Maryland failed to secure a win in its Los Angeles road trip, outscored by USC and UCLA by a combined 4-0. Finding shots continued to be a struggle against the powerful Bruins backline, as the Terps notched a -11 shot differential Sunday.
2. Luckey to have her. The goal felt very safe today in the hands of Luckey as the sophomore achieved five incredible saves on the day. Despite the late giveaway, Luckey has proven herself to be a competent replacement for Liz Beardsley.
3. Weekend improvement. After the Terps’ disappointing loss to USC, things looked rough as Maryland was outclassed in every aspect of the contest. But Maryland looked stronger, more poised and more defined against a much tougher UCLA team. With much to be proud of, the Terps return home next Thursday to face Illinois.
