Maryland women’s soccer put away by USC, 3-0

A miscue from Maryland women’s soccer in the 38th minute came when Kate Hawley shoved  Katie Park in the box and was assessed a yellow card. 

But as Park loaded up her penalty kick, the whistle blew as the refs checked video review. Officials then returned to the pitch, upholding the initial foul call, ready to conduct the free kick. But the chaos and confusion continued as a fire alarm in a nearby facility loudly blared, stopping play entirely. 

Play continued nearly 10 minutes later, as Park stood over the ball once more. Her shot dribbled low and left, but found nylon as Luckey’s dive proved hapless.

Miscues and missed opportunities were the story of the night as Maryland took the loss to USC, 3-0, in an away match it would like to forget. 

Lisa McIntyre’s kickoff drove deep into the USC defensive zone, giving the Trojans a scare early, but they got away with a goal kick.

USC quickly drove back as a cross was accepted by Faith George deep in the box, but her shot chipped just high. The Trojans continued to push as Maribel Flores was awarded a free kick about five yards beyond the box in the 7th minute after a tripping foul on Alyssa Abramson. Her kick curled right and high as the ball snuck just inside the right post to put the Trojans up early.

USC did not let up as another pair of shots from Flores and George missed wide just a few minutes later. It was clear early that Faith Luckey had lots of action ahead of her. Another dangerous cross from George was knocked away by Luckey in the 18th minute as the duo continued to pepper the box. 

Another pair of shots were stymied in the 20th minute, one from a save and the next on a bad miss. USC’s offense was firing on all cylinders, logging seven shots in the opening 25 minutes as the Terps failed to muster one. 

Maryland finally pushed back in the 26th minute, but failed to make inroads as a pair of crosses from Terp wingers were cut off by goalkeeper Bella Grust.

After a shot wide left from Jaiden Anderson in the 33rd minute, Maryland made a pair of frontline subs to create more opportunities. And those opportunities came nearly immediately as long-range McIntyre shot sailed just high right to mark Maryland’s first shot of the match.

Just after, a Maryland corner kick from Ava Morales in the 35th minute sailed into the box, but Abramson’s header went awry as she collided with a defender and was forced to exit the match. Maryland took advantage of the stoppage and made an additional three substitutions on offense. Abramson then returned to the match minutes later.

USC’s second goal spelled disaster for the Terps, as the players looked utterly dejected as the clock ticked down in the first half.

Outshot 9-1, the Terps had a lot of locker room thought to dwell on as they went into the second half still down two goals.

USC reached double-digit shots early in the second half as George’s shot in the 46th minute skidded just left of Maryland’s goal.

On a deep run from Kelsey Smith, a trip resulted in a Maryland free kick. Taken by Emily Lenhard, the free kick curled wide left of the goal.

Pressure on Luckey continued to mount after a close-range shot from Anderson was masterfully blocked. The resulting rebound settled at the feet of Flores, whose subsequent shot was cleared away off a deflection. 

Maryland’s attack continued to take advantage of opportunities, as Lenhard’s free kick in the 64th minute launched over the crossbar. Smith then charged down the left side in the 67th minute, but failed to execute a cross as she was suffocated by USC’s backline.

Frustrations continued to boil over in the 69th minute as Smith shoved Alyssa Gonzalez on a blistering run, earning Maryland’s second yellow card.

Luckey made another fantastic stop in the 73rd minute as she dove to her left and made the save with her left glove off a phenomenal shot from Anderson.

Another chance from Maryland was nullified after a Delaney DeMartino cross was cut off by Grust. A point-blank free kick from Morales was then easily blocked by a host of Trojans, as the Terps scrambled to find their first goal. 

In the 89th minute, the Trojans sealed the match off with their third goal of the game. Hana Mizumoto drove into Maryland’s backline, and after Luckey’s challenge off the press was bested, the ball easily dribbled into the net.

At the close of the match, the lopsided affair came to an end as the Trojans took down the Terps, 3-0.

Three things to know

1. High leverage fouls. Maryland and USC both had five fouls apiece Thursday evening. However, the Trojans were much more disciplined as both goals allowed by the Terps were the result of set piece opportunities at close range. If not for these costly mishaps, it could have been a very different result.

2. Still searching. After Thursday’s loss, Maryland remains winless on the road, with an 0-4 away record hanging over its heads. This trend will be difficult to break as it continues its California tour Sunday with a match against No. 4 UCLA.

3. Out of luck. Despite recent progress, the Terps’ two-match win streak has come to an end in Los Angeles. The one-sided bout was highlighted by USC’s dominant offense as it was able to completely overwhelm Maryland’s backline and quickly tired out Luckey.