UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The University of Maryland women's soccer team played valiantly against No. 6 Penn State, but fell 1-0 to the Nittany Lions Thursday night at Jeffrey Field.
The Terrapins finish the regular season at 5-7-6 overall and 3-5-5 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions complete their regular season with a 17-2-0 record and 12-1-0 in conference play.
“The girls gave everything they had tonight to get a positive result,” said Maryland head coach Jonathan Morgan. “I cannot fault their effort in any way. We really only gave them one good look at the goal all night but it was enough for a quality finish. Now we will wait and see how the other Big Ten games play out to determine our fate. “
The first half was an evenly played 45 minutes, but Penn State took advantage of one opportunity to score the game's lone goal in the 25th minute. A through ball to Frannie Crouse got the freshman behind the Maryland defense and she banked a shot off of the right post and into the goal.
The Terps didn't back down from the 2014 Big Ten champions and developed several quality opportunities, but just couldn't find the equalizer.
In the 12th minute, junior Riley Barger slotted a pass to junior Sarah Fichter, timing the ball perfectly with Fichtner's run, but Fichtner was knocked around by a Nittany Lion defender and couldn't get much on the shot, which was easily saved by PSU keeper Britt Eckerstrom.
Junior Shannon Collins delivered a solid corner kick in the 23rd minute that got through to the back post near the top corner of the 18 where junior Aubrey Baker was waiting. Unfortunately, Baker got under the ball just a bit and lifted it over the crossbar.
Penn State continued to press looking for an insurance goal late in the first half, but the Terrapins used an effective counter attack to create an opportunity in the 34th minute. Redshirt freshman Alex Anthony got off a good cross from the right side, but senior Shade Pratt couldn't get on the end of it with a header.
Anthony continued to show her quality in the 38th minute when she played a beautifully weighted ball in to sophomore Natasha Ntone-Kouo, but Eckerstrom was playing a high line and was able to get to the ball before Ntone-Kouo could collect it for a shot.
Maryland continued to fight on in the second half, but Penn State played conservatively and didn't allow for any Terrapin shots to reach the goal.
Two of the quality chances in the second half came on set pieces.
The first came in the 57th minute when Ntone-Kouo earned a corner for Maryland. Collins played the ball short to Gerlitz, who got off a shot with two Nittany Lions rushing at her, but her effort when wide right of the goal.
The second came in the 83rd minute when Galanti was taken down to the just outside the penalty area deep on the right side. The ball was touched over to Collins to create a better angle, but her shot clipped a Nittany Lion defender and bounced away from danger.
Galanti created an opportunity for herself in the 81st minute with a nice cut to her left to get some space near the top of the 18, but once again the shot was blocked by a Penn State defender before it could even reach the frame.
Maryland, which entered the final week of the regular season in eighth place in the conference standings, will have to await the outcome of Friday's matches to see if it retains the eighth and final spot in next week's Big Ten tournament.
