Women's soccer fades late, loses in overtime, 2-1

For the first 85 minutes of last night's game against No. 13 Boston College, it appeared as though the Terrapins women's soccer team had shaken off any of the rust that saw it go through a two-week span with one win, one loss and one tie.

The Terps had scored their first first-half goal since Sept. 7 against American, setting their path toward what seemed a 2-1-0 start in ACC play.

But they couldn't finish the deal. In the 88th minute, a ball served into the box by Eagles midfielder Kristen Mewis appeared to rebound off Terps defender Lydia Hastings before rolling into an open goal, tying the game at 1-1.

Overtime wasn't much better. The Terps fell, 2-1, after forward Victoria DiMartino slipped a shot over goalkeeper Yewande Balogun.

"There are games where we're fending for our lives and wishing, praying, hoping we can hold on," coach Brian Pensky said. "I didn't have that feeling. I felt confident."

Pensky missed out on his chance to record his 63rd win as Terps coach, a new record, but his mind was with the players after the game.

"Lydia's just trying to make a play and unfortunately knocks it into the back of the net," he said. "I felt badly for her. I thought she played very, very well. … I feel badly for the kid because she's beating herself up right now and she shouldn't be doing that. She was just trying to make a play."

Entering the final five minutes of play, the No. 11 Terps (7-2-2, 1-2 ACC) looked like the team that was ranked No. 3 in the country two weeks ago, not the squad that tied James Madison, was blown about by Virginia and fell behind early to Virginia Tech. The Terps were playing up to the magnitude of a prime-time, regionally televised ACC game.

Early in the first half, forward Hayley Brock received a long pass from Yewande Balogun and navigated through the Boston College (7-0-2, 2-0) defense to set up a one-on-one opportunity with goalkeeper Jillian Mastroianni. Mastroianni entered the night as the ACC's top goalkeeper this year, having not allowed a goal since the Eagles' season opener on Aug. 19.

But the speedy Brock broke through and shot right past Mastroianni, giving the Terps an early 1-0 lead. The lead was the Terps' first lead in the first half since Sept. 7, when they beat American, 5-1.

"I don't think they'd played against a kid like Hayley Brock up until this point, and it took them a little while to adjust," Pensky said. "Fortunately, we were able to get a goal before we adjusted."

Before the decisive last 10 minutes of action, the Terps' defense, which had allowed six goals in its previous four games, looked like the squad that started the year off with six consecutive shutouts. For so long, it bent under the pressure of the Boston College attack. And for a while, it didn't break.

"I think our defense just played really smart," midfielder Amy O'Sullivan said. "We were really smart the majority of the game. Coach talked about before the game the little things determine the end result. Unfortunately, that happened."

The Terps can't afford to dwell on the loss, not with N.C. State coming to Ludwig Field on Sunday. O'Sullivan said the Terps need to get the losses out of the way now as opposed to later, when the games take on more meaning. Pensky doesn't doubt the team will be able to recover.

"We're completely confident," Pensky said. "We're pissed right now and disappointed. A loss like this does not at all shake our confidence. It just means we have to go back to work."

dgallen@umdbk.com