Penn State women’s soccer ends losing streak with road win over Maryland
Penn State shutout Maryland on the road to end its two-game losing streak.
The match opened up with both teams going back and forth and neither side getting any good looks.
Within the first 20 minutes of the game the Terrapins outshot the Nittany Lions 5-2. However, it was midfielder Natalie Wilson who scored her first career goal to get the blue and white on the board first.
Maryland just couldn’t get out of its own way in the first half, committing seven fouls compared to Penn State's two. These fouls cost the Terps multiple opportunities to score early in the game.
Both teams played solid defense until the 45th minute, where Maryland scored on a free kick, but the call was reversed because of an offside call.
Coming out of half, midfielder Olivia Smith drew a yellow card to give Penn State a free kick opportunity. Forward Ally Schlegel took the free kick shot, which was saved by Maryland's goalie Madeline Smith, she would end the day with six saves.
A few minutes later, Smith drew another yellow card and another free kick try. This time, Smith took the honors and passed it to midfielder Cori Dyke, who punched in the goal.
Penn State would only get one opportunity to shoot the ball for the remainder of the game. Maryland kept up the pressure with four more shots but they were all saved by Penn State goalie Katherine Asman.
Penn State played a clean and efficient game with six fouls and eight shots. All of the Nittany Lions shots were shots on goal, with two going in.
Maryland outshot Penn State with 12 shots on the day, however only four of them were shots on goal. Maryland committed 10 fouls on the day, one that would take away a goal.
Penn State's bench contributed three shots on goal and one assist, giving the Nittany Lions an edge over Maryland.
Maryland’s defense kept the game close by only allowing eight shots throughout the game. Smith had six saves on eight shots on goal, the second-most saves in a game in her career.
Maryland fell to 2-6-5 on the season, and it will go on the road to play Ohio State Thursday at 7 p.m.
Penn State improves to 8-3-2 on the season and will return home to host two Big Ten conference games. It will host Wisconsin Thursday at 6 p.m. and Michigan Sunday at 1 p.m.
Micheal Bolger is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mpb6233@psu.edu.
