After Maryland women’s soccer drew Stony Brook, 2-2, on Sunday, the Terps stay in College Park to welcome American on Thursday.
The Terps, 1-0-1, look to stay unbeaten against American, whom Maryland drew, 0-0, at the beginning of last season.
Thursday’s match will kick off at 7 p.m. at Ludwig Field and will be broadcasted on Big Ten Plus.
American Eagles (0-1-1, 0-0-0 Patriot League)
2023 record: 3-9-4, 3-5-1 Patriot League
American enters the match coming off a 1-0 loss to Virginia Military Institute on the road Sunday. The Eagles have scored just one goal in their first two games, which came in their opening-day draw with George Washington.
American head coach Marsha Harper is in her fifth season at the helm. Prior to her time with American, Harper served as an assistant coach at Bowling Green, Northwestern State and UMass.
As a student-athlete, Harper played for Florida for three seasons (2008-11) before transferring to USF, where she played another three seasons and was named a team captain in 2013.
Players to watch
Bella Vozar, sophomore defender, No. 12 — Vozar scored her first-career goal for the Eagles against George Washington. She started 14 of the 15 games she appeared in and recorded just one assist last season.
Brooke Steel, senior midfielder, No. 14 — Steel co-led the Eagles with three goals and recorded an assist last season. She also earned a Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week nod last September. This season, Steel has only posted one shot, which was not on target.
Addison Roemer, freshman goalkeeper, No. 32 — Roemer is American’s starting goalkeeper in her first season of collegiate soccer. In her first two games, she’s given up two goals and made two saves.
Strength
Shots. American has doubled its opponents in shot attempts thus far this season, averaging 16 shots per game.
Weakness
Scoring. The Eagles have only scored one goal this season, making their shot percentage a merely 3.1%. American has only put nine shots on net, for an on-goal shot percentage of 28.1%.
Three things to watch
1. Will Maryland stay unbeaten? Maryland women’s soccer has yet to lose a match in 2024. After winning its first match over Lehigh and drawing with Stony Brook, Maryland looks to add to its positive start against American.
2. Can the Terps keep scoring? Maryland has scored two goals in each of its first two contests. After averaging just 0.50 goals per game in 2023, it’s still uncertain if Maryland can keep this pace up.
3. Liz Beardsley named Terp of the Week. In the first week of the season, Maryland Athletics named Liz Beardsley as its Solomon Eye Terp of the Week. In her second season with the Terps after transferring from Georgia, Beardsley has made 12 saves while only allowing two goals.
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