Maryland women’s soccer and Navy struggled throughout the entire night to produce much offensively. As the 74th minute approached, it seemed like the match was destined for a scoreless draw as Maryland entered what seemed to be a harmless counter-attack.
Ava Morales’ pass was blocked and deflected right to the foot of Kelsey Smith. Smith then immediately swerved past Navy defenders before rocketing a shot on goal. Her shot was placed perfectly through the near post and soared home past Natasha Stramrood to give Maryland the lead.
Unlike its last match where it conceded the tying goal in the 89th minute, Smith’s goal was all Maryland needed. It earned its second victory of the 2024 campaign, 1-0, over Navy.
After Sunday’s match, Maryland (2-1-2) needed to come out strong on the road. The Terps had some action early on — Emily Lenhard and Smith both took shots, but both missed the net.
Despite these early attempts, Navy (3-3) sent the first shot on net and Liz Beardsley had to make a diving save in the eighth minute.
In what has become a recurring theme for the Terps, the first half didn’t see much action. They earned their first corner of the match in the 25th minute, but it was decisively cleared away. Ultimately, that was theme of the first half: everything Maryland tried to do offensively was easily defended by the Mids.
Throughout the first 45 minutes, neither team generated much offensively. It was clear that the Mids were controlling the pace, especially after the 31st minute, as Navy kept the play in Maryland’s half of the field. This trend continued for the rest of the half, with the exception of a Maryland shot and free kick.
In the first half, the Terps were unable to muster a shot on goal. Shot attempts were 5-4 Navy.
After a relatively quiet start to the second half, the Terps finally got their first shot on net. In the 58th minute, Lenhard took a low center shot, but it was saved by Stramrood.
Shortly after, in the 59th minute, Marlee Heaven had a huge opportunity with the ball in front of Beardsley, but missed the net wide.
Navy continued to generate chances, as Beardsley was forced to make a save on Hannah Mulholland shot to the bottom middle of the net. Mimi Abusham also received a cross in front, but sailed the shot above the net.
The Terps finally flipped the field and got their fix with Smith’s goal. From there, they did not allow Navy to rally another shot on net, cruising to victory.
Ultimately, shot attempts were 12-7 in favor of Navy, but both teams ended with two shots on net. Both programs had three corners and Maryland committed nine fouls compared to Navy’s seven.
The lone goal was the difference as Maryland earned its second win of the season.
Three things to know
1. Smith for the win. Smith scored her second goal of the season on Thursday night as she had the poise to receive the ball, move swiftly past defenders and finish the opportunity. Her goal broke the ice and delivered the Terps’ the game winner.
2. Golden victory. Maryland wore its gold alternate uniforms for the first time this season and notched the win. The Terps have won both of their two road games this season and improve to 2-1-2 on the season. They are two-thirds of the way to matching last season’s win total of three.
3. Holding Navy scoreless. In Navy’s last match on Tuesday, the Mids scored eight goals against Wilson College. Thursday night was a different story, as the Terps held the Mids scoreless. Only two of Navy’s 12 shot attempts were on net in the losing effort.
