Box Score Aug. 20, 2017 Final Stats
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Playing its second Power 5 opponent in 48 hours, the Navy women's soccer team came up short on Sunday night with a 3-0 defeat on the road versus the University of Maryland. After a scoreless 45 minutes of play opened the match at Maryland's Ludwig Field, the host Terps netted consecutive goals within 77 seconds at 60:44 and 62:01 to break open the game before tallying a late insurance tally.
"I thought we had a good first half, but we weren't generating good chances so at halftime we asked more from our team," remarked head coach Carin Gabarra. "At the end of the day though, this result came down to set pieces. We didn't execute on either side of those and they [Maryland] did. We had a few mental lapses in big moments and that cost us goals. Maryland was better in the box tonight and that's where the goals came from. That's also where they kept us off the scoreboard as well."
The opening 30 minutes saw free-flowing play in the middle third of the field with only minimal scoring opportunities. During this run of action, the Mids best chance happened in the 29th minute when Clare MacAdam (Sr., Palmyra, N.J.) put a free kick towards the net but was deflected wide.
In the final seven minutes of the half, Navy started building lengthier possessions in Maryland's back third of the field. The pressure nearly resulted in a golden scoring opportunity when a Terrapin pass back towards its goalkeeper was mishit and Navy almost grabbed the loose ball before the Terps cleared the ball out of danger.
The teams went into the locker room with the score tied at 0-0. Both squads had recorded three shots, with one each on target.
After 15 more minutes of scoreless action in the second half, the host team broke onto the scoreboard with two goals in quick succession. First up, the Terps slotted a pass from the right side of the six-yard box along the line for a one-time shot and goal at 60:48. Less than two minutes later at 62:01, the Terps increased their lead to two as the hosts converted a low line-drive free kick from 25 yards out.
Down by a pair of goals, Navy continued scrapping and looking for its first marker. Set pieces gave the Mids their best chances down the stretch. In the 74th minute, a Baseley McClaskey (So., Grand Junction, Colo.) corner kick jostled around the box before Meghan Hegarty (Sr., Richmond, Va.) connected for a shot that sailed high. Four minutes later, an Ash Fairow (Jr., Jacksonville, N.C.) throw-in towards the goal was controlled by McClaskey, who fired a shot on goal from close range before the Terps' keeper Rachel Egyed made the save.
With Navy pushing up offensively in the final portion of the game, Maryland was able to net a third insurance goal at 84:11.
For the game, both teams were credited with 10 shots with Maryland holding a 6-4 in shots on goal. Sydney Fortson (So., Claremont, Calif.) registered three saves in 84:20 of action in goal for Navy.
"Early on in the season, we have to learn where are deficiencies are so we can get better, but we want to play good teams," said Gabarra. "Two games on a weekend is normal so that's what we wanted to accomplish with games versus Tennessee and Maryland. This weekend showed us that we need to do a better job of stepping up in big moments. Those moments specifically let us down tonight."
Navy will next be in action on Friday, August 25 in Frederica, Delaware versus Delaware State University. The Mids and Hornets will face off at 7:00 p.m.
