Eighteen shots on target. Eighteen! And somehow, after all that, the women’s soccer team still lost 3-2 to Maryland last night, wrapping up their season with a gut-punch that nobody saw coming, especially when Maryland hadn’t won a single road game all year. Let that sink in. Zero road wins for the Terrapins heading into Yurcak Field on Friday night, and they walked out with the W, ending the year for both squads.
A Hail Mary That Never Came
Look, the numbers are just brutal. Maryland’s Jolie Farmer found the net early, then again in the second half, and Mia Mitchell converted a penalty shot after a handball on Sophia Stiles. That’s three goals for a team that had been outscored 26-11 on the season and had only one conference win before this game. Our side fought back, with Lilia Calvert nailing a penalty at 56:25 and Reilly McGlinn making it a one-goal game at 81:49 off a Julia Joseph assist. The momentum was there, the equalizer felt like it had to come, but it just never did. Maryland’s keeper, Luckey, was an absolute wall with 13 saves before Meredith Fisher took over and added three more. Unbelievable. We put 33 shots up, 18 on target, and only two found their way in, one of those from the spot. It was Halloween on the pitch, but by the final whistle, it felt anything but festive.
The Brutal End to a Season That Promised More
The mood after the game was as somber as it gets, and you could feel the raw emotion from the players. This wasn’t just another loss; this was the end. Big Ten Tournament hopes were already gone, so this final whistle was the absolute curtain call for the year. And for five seniors, it was the last time they’d wear the jersey. Just heartbreaking. This team, picked 15th out of 18 in the Big Ten preseason poll, spent most of the fall looking way better than its record suggested. They crushed No. 14 Wisconsin 3-1 on Senior Day, celebrated a win on Pink Out against Northwestern, and only dropped one-goal matches to tough teams like Purdue, UCLA, and Penn State. Coming into this game, they were off their best October result, a 4-0 shutout win at Indiana that finally ended a three-game scoring drought, with McGlinn bagging her first two goals of the season. The finishing just never quite clicked consistently, and Friday night was the last chance to get it right. Maryland, on the other hand, rolled in with a 4-10-3 overall record, a dismal 1-8-2 in conference play, and had been picked 17th in the preseason poll. Their only other conference win was against Northwestern back on October 11, and they were 0-5-2 away from College Park. Yet, they pulled off the upset that ended a season.
This is it. The year is over. For those seniors, their college careers are done. It’s a tough pill to swallow when you know the team fought hard all season, often outperforming expectations, but the final outcome is a loss that stings, especially against a team that couldn’t buy a road win until it mattered most.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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