Maryland women’s soccer scores first conference goal since 2022, downs Nebraska, 2-0

The Terps scored in a Big Ten match for the first time in 721 days, and did it twice.

In its final home match of the season, Maryland women’s soccer earned something it hasn’t had since 2022: a Big Ten victory. The Terps found the back of the net twice against Nebraska on Sunday after 17 consecutive Big Ten matches without a score.

The Terps shut out the Cornhuskers, picking up a 2-0 win in their second game under interim head coach Michael Marchiano.

“It’s a cool day for the girls. Really happy to get the win,” Marchiano said. “I think a lot of us know what’s been going on in our program, around our program, and it’s a big day for the girls to get three points, to get a win, to score a goal. And I’m really, really happy for them.”

In the 41st minute of a relatively uneventful first half, Kelsey Smith entered the offensive zone for Maryland and passed the ball back to Katie Coyle. Coyle then crossed it to Delaney DeMartino in front of the net with nobody around her except Nebraska goalkeeper Samantha Hauk. DeMartino headed it past Hauk to give Maryland the lead.

“When Coyle played that ball over, I just acted how I have to act, finished the goal, and, you know, we ran over to the corner and the hugs and everything,” DeMartino said. “We were just all so excited. I mean, it wasn’t about me, it was about this team.”

The goal marked Maryland’s first in conference play in 721 days.

“It’s been a long season, and, I mean, we’ve been trying to score a goal for a long time, and it felt great,” DeMartino said. “I knew I was just doing it for my team. So my first thought was I was doing it for the rest of the girls on this team, and it was amazing feeling.”

The Terps were not content with just one goal, though. A second was on its way.

“I think we huddled together after that goal, and we said we weren’t done. One goal is not enough. It’s not good enough,” DeMartino said. “At halftime ... we came together and we said, ‘Just because we scored one goal doesn’t mean we’re done.’”

In the ladder part of the second half, there was a video review for a foul by Kennedy Bell. She earned a yellow card and Nebraska was awarded a free kick.

Bell intercepted the free kick and took it all the way to the other end to give the Terps a corner. Kelsey Smith received the corner and passed the ball in front of the net to Katie Coyle, who kicked it in to give Maryland a two-goal lead in the 77th minute.

Nebraska applied offensive pressure early.

In the fifth minute, Lauryn Anglim recorded the first shot of the game, and forced Liz Beardsley to make a diving save. In the 13th minute, Tahirah Turnage-Morales blocked another Nebraska shot.

The first 15 minutes of the match were uneventful, but Beardsley had a number of goal kicks. Nebraska held most of the chances, earning two corners early.

In the 23rd minute, Maryland had a golden opportunity with Hauk out of position. Bell sent a cross in front to Hannah Schapiro, who headed the shot too high.

Action was happening in the middle of the pitch, but nothing substantial occurred on either end of the field until the Terps broke through in the biggest way.

In the first half, shots were tied at three apiece, shots on goal were 1-1, corners were 2-0 in favor of Nebraska and Maryland held 56% of the possession. For the first time since the start of 2022 Big Ten play, the Terps headed into the break with a lead in a conference match.

Nebraska’s Abbey Schwarz came awfully close to an equalizer, but the shot hit the crossbar.

Schwarz then received her second yellow card of the match when she tackled DeMartino in the 52nd minute. As a result, Schwarz was assessed a red card and disqualified from the match.

For the first time in a month, Maryland spent the second half defending a lead. Nebraska pressured on the offensive end, but did not produce shots on goal.

Shots in the match were tied at seven a piece, shots on goal were 3-2 in favor of Maryland and corners were 5-4 in favor of Nebraska.

The team gave Marchiano a Gatorade bath for his first win as interim head coach — a monumental one for both him and the program.

“I didn’t love the Gatorade shower, but for sure, it makes a great memory, and I’m beyond happy for them to be able to smile and celebrate in victory after what they’ve been through,” Marchiano said.

Three things to know

1. The Terps did it. DeMartino did something for Maryland that hadn’t been done since Alyssa Poarch in the final match of 2022 at Purdue: she scored a goal in Big Ten play. It was DeMartino’s third goal of the season, as she also scored Maryland’s last goal on Sept. 8 against VCU.

“I think we were all kind of relieved. We were like, ‘Okay, we can score,’” Coyle said. “I’m not really thinking about, like, we’ve never scored a goal, we’ve never won a Big Ten game, like, at least since I’ve been here. So it was just everyone was focused on playing the game, and the results kind of came from the focus.”

2. A pink victory. Maryland got its first Big Ten win of the season wearing pink for Breast Cancer Awareness in its final home contest of the season. Sunday was a cause for celebration for Maryland, as the Terps played their best match of the season in front of the home fans.

“We’ll remember Ludwig [Field] as a place that we won our last home game,” Coyle said. “We got the shutout. We played like ourselves. So, I think it’s really important to end on a high note, especially with three away games to wrap up the season.”

3. Marchiano’s impact. Marchiano was vocal on the sideline, often yelling specific instructions to the team throughout the match. That’s something that hadn’t been evident from the coaching staff all season. He led Maryland to its first Big Ten goal and win on Sunday.

“It’s not rocket science. I think we’re just trying to get players on the field and give us some energy,” Marchiano said. “I think that all comes back to trying to create and maintain energy, and that’s maybe something that we’ll continue to look at moving forward.”

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