Spencer’s return secures hope, if not goals, for women's soccer

Near the end of regulation Sunday at Ludwig Field, a murmur went through the crowd.

Jasmyne Spencer, a key cog in a once-dangerous Terrapins women's soccer team offensive attack, had risen from the bench, where she had been largely confined by injuries. And she was warming up.

When Spencer finally entered the game for the Terps with less than five minutes left in the first overtime period, the crowd gave her a loud ovation, hoping her sudden return from injury could help break a 0-0 tie and right a Terps team that has fallen in recent weeks.

But in the end, the Terps tied N.C. State, 0-0, their fourth disappointing result in five games and the latest dip in a swoon that has coincided with the start of critical ACC play.

After the first seven games of the season, the Terps were sitting pretty, ranked No. 3 in the nation with a 6-0-1 record and an offense averaging 3.43 goals per game. But since the Terps' Sept. 11 tie at James Madison, where Spencer sustained head and rib injuries, the 11th-ranked team has gone 1-2-2 while averaging only 0.80 goals per game.

"Right now, we're pretty stalled out in our attack," coach Brian Pensky said. "We talked about it [Saturday]. We're all taking responsibility for it. We're struggling to get goals, and we're struggling to be dangerous right now."

The return of Spencer ahead of the Oct. 8 date Pensky originally targeted could be critical for the Terps as they look to become a more daunting team offensively moving forward. Pensky has made it clear that one player does not make a team, but the team's recent struggles suggest the injuries Spencer experienced in a collision with two seconds left at James Madison have had a more significant effect than expected.

Pensky said it's not clear how much Spencer will play Thursday at Clemson, and he wasn't even thinking about playing her on Sunday until near the end of regulation. After Spencer had an X-ray Saturday afternoon to gauge her progress, the training staff gave Pensky the go-ahead to play her if necessary — something he was admittedly hesitant to do.

"She was a little rusty," Pensky said. "I do think she gave us a little bit of an energy boost. She hadn't played soccer in two weeks. Hindsight is always 20-20. I wonder, Did I set her up for success and our team up for success by just throwing her out there?"

In Spencer's absence, Pensky and his coaching staff had looked for other ways to jumpstart their offense. Recently, the Terps changed from a 4-3-3 alignment to 4-4-2, inserting forward Hayley Brock into the starting lineup alongside Danielle Hubka.

The team has played its past three games with two forwards, an alignment that has generated only two goals in the run of play. At halftime against N.C. State, Pensky debated switching back to the 4-3-3, but didn't want to "push sort of a panic button" for the team, he said.

Brock's move into the starting lineup has paid immediate dividends: She scored nine minutes into her first start against Boston College Sept. 22 and generated chances against N.C. State. Brock, a transfer from Penn State, said she is still adjusting to her newfound responsibility to dictate the flow of the game as a starter.

Despite all of Pensky's lineup reshuffling, it seems Spencer's return might offer the greatest hope for a team at risk of falling out of the ACC title race.

"We're desperate right now for results and wins," Pensky said. "We've been in these last two weeks a little bit stale and a little bit methodical and a little bit blah. My hope is that her energy can help kind of inject some of that energy into our whole team."

dgallen@umdbk.com