The Terrapin women’s soccer team is locked in a scoreless match with the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Sweet 16 as the teams head into the locker rooms after the first half.
After a fast, first 15 minutes to begin the match, where both teams had great scoring opportunities, the defenses have settled in. Terps goalkeeper Mary Casey continues to make clutch saves to keep them in the game and finished the first half with five.
Meanwhile, North Carolina forward Casey Nogueira is powering the Tar Heel ofense with three shots, two of which were on goal. But different from the past two matches against the Tar Heels, the Terps have held possession in their half of the field.
The Terps tried to expose the North Carolina pressure-oriented defense by sending through balls to forward Jasmyne Spencer, but she has been flagged for offside multiple times already.
The first half played out how Pensky wanted – defense stepping up and not allowing a goal while the offensive has better possession. He wants North Carolina to force something and in turn make a mistake that the Terps can take advantage of.
But preventing the Tar Heels from scoring is an enormous feat. The Terps have not lost this season when leading or tied at halftime (12-0-2) – just a statistic to remember if history is made today.
Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin women’s soccer beat reporter for the 2009 season. He can be reached at eckard@umdbk.com