Nebraska soccer won its third straight match Thursday afternoon, pulling away late to take down Maryland 3-0.
The Huskers, who now sit at 10-2-3 and 4-1-2 in Big Ten play, made errors early but still took care of business against their struggling opponent. The Terrapins entered with a 0-5-1 conference record and had yet to score in those games while conceding a league-worst 15 goals.
Regardless, Maryland found ways to threaten from early on in the contest. Freshman Terrapin forward Peyton Bernard twice found herself with a great shot at the goal, but both attempts hit the crossbar after getting past keeper Sami Hauk. Thursday’s weather, which forced the match to be moved up six hours from its original start time, may have aided the Huskers early, as significant winds affected shots and passes throughout the contest.
Nebraska held a 1-0 lead at the half, getting on the board in the 19th minute. A pass from Florence Belzile found Abbey Schwarz, whose header bounced off a pair of Maryland defenders before making its way to Sarah Weber. Weber, who stood just a few feet from the goal, kicked it up off the crossbar, only for it to bounce off the Terrapin keeper and score.
Through the rest of the first half and much of the second half, the Huskers and their opposition had chances to score. The fourth of Maryland’s five shots on goal came as result of one of multiple defensive errors from Nebraska, as a poor pass set up the shot. However, that attempt rolled softly enough for Hauk to save it comfortably.
In the final 10 minutes, Nebraska was finally able to pull away. Following a short stoppage of play for a minor Maryland injury, Eleanor Dale stood right by the Terrapins’ deepest defender. As play resumed, Nicola Hauk sent a well-placed pass just past the two, and Dale got to the ball first before scoring easily.
That score in the 83rd relieved any remaining tension, putting the home team up 2-0. Nebraska continued to attack, and capped off the win with a third score in the 90th minute. With the keeper not in position to make a save following a corner kick, Dale fired a shot that was ruled to have crossed the line before being deflected by a Maryland defender. Had it been successfully turned away, Weber was there to follow up and send it in anyway.
With her two late scores, Dale continued her stellar season. Only four other Huskers have ever scored 20 goals in a season, and her 21 goals are tied for fourth in program history. It was also her ninth game this season with multiple goals. That number alone would rank in the top 10 on Nebraska’s career leaderboards, but her 12 career multiple-goal games are also tied for fourth.
Beyond Dale, other Huskers are continuing very strong seasons. Belzile had a pair of assists in the match to follow up her three-assist performance against Iowa last weekend. One more assist would give the junior 12 on the season, moving her into a tie for 10th in program history.
“Flo is a great player, I love playing with Flo,” Dale said after the win over Iowa. “I think her vision and her knowledge of the game is great and I think we have great chemistry.”
Along with those two, Weber, who was a first-team all-conference pick last year, is up to eight goals in 14 games after scoring 10 in 20 contests in 2022.
Nebraska entered the day alone at fifth in the Big Ten standings, With today’s win earning the team three more points and Indiana set to square off against Michigan State on Thursday night, the Huskers will enter the weekend no worse than tied for fourth.
Nebraska’s remaining three opponents all currently sit on the outside looking in for the eight-team conference tournament. If the Huskers can secure a top four spot in the standings down the stretch, they’ll host a Big Ten quarterfinal game at Hibner Stadium.
Next, the Huskers will face Minnesota on the road Sunday before returning home next Thursday for the regular season home finale against Purdue.
