Women's soccer's defense looking for offense, not injuries

The onset of ACC play for the Terrapins women's soccer team has brought anticipated matchups with top-ranked teams, upper-tier talents and games in hostile environments. But it has also brought one thing the Terps could not have foreseen: an injury bug that has plagued one of the conference's top defenses.

On Sept. 22 against Boston College, Mallory Baker went down with an injury. On Sunday against N.C. State, Kristen McAfee, Baker's replacement, suffered an apparent knee injury. That meant considerable time for third-string center-back Bailey Bodell.

Entering tonight's league contest at Clemson (5-5, 0-3 ACC), though, the No. 18 Terps aren't worried about their defense, or even who comprises it.

"It is a must-win," defender Skyy Anderson said. "I know we've had a couple of games that we should have won, and our first ACC game didn't go out as planned, but I think we're all ready for a win."

That first league matchup, a 4-1 loss at Virginia, has been the defense's only significant blemish on the year. The Terps (7-2-3, 1-2-1) have managed eight shutouts over the course of the season, an impressive number considering the Terps have twice dipped into their reserves to reinforce their defense.

"Last Thursday when Kristen stepped in, she wasn't surprised by responsibilities that she had, and Bailey wasn't surprised either," coach Brian Pensky said. "The difference is they haven't played in X number of weeks, and they haven't played in an ACC game so all those things, the speed of it, that's more the challenge."

And while a defense giving up 0.67 goals per game, good for fourth in the ACC, would seemingly be full of players who have cut their teeth on the backline during their careers, only Bodell arrived in College Park as a defender. The rest — including McAfee, Anderson and Lydia Hastings — all come from attacking or midfield backgrounds.

"It helps them in a little bit of their individual defending," Pensky said. "They're used to being attacking players so they have the mind of their attacking players so they understand some of the nuances that some of the attacking players have."

A prime example of the Terps' success in positional relocation came last year with since-graduated Caitlin McDowell. McDowell played her first three seasons with the Terps in the midfield, where she accumulated ample playing time and modest statistics. But in her senior year, the Terps moved her to right back — "I thought they were joking," McDowell said of her initial reaction to the change — and she became a force. McDowell recorded 12 assists and 18 points, a figure equaling her career total for her first three years.

Pensky's system, as evidenced by McDowell's point totals, calls for his defenders, particularly outside backs, to play a role on offense. McDowell said the more time players get on the backline, the more natural the mentality and gameplay becomes. That could be the case for a player such as Hastings, who is playing defender for the first time in her career.

This year, she and Megan Gibbons have a combined four points, and none in ACC play. Not surprisingly, the Terps have only four goals in four conference games so far.

That could change tonight for a defense looking for more goals as it sports fewer able bodies. Last season, the Terps defeated Clemson, 4-0, at Ludwig Field, and the Terps are expecting that offense to carry over.

"We deserve a win," Anderson said. "We work way too hard to not win so we're going into it expecting a win. It's going to be challenging because every team in the ACC is good, but we're expecting to win because that's the type of standard we set for ourselves every time."

dgallen@umdbk.com