Nebraska soccer sent out its seniors in style, beating Maryland 2-0 on Sunday for the Huskers’ senior day.
“Everything about this program has suited me and helped me grow as a person and a player,” senior defender Lauryn Anglim said. “Just the relationships and everything, I’m so grateful for everything that they’ve given me.”Â
Nebraska came into the match with a 6-3-5 record, coming off its first win in over a month against Purdue. Maryland, meanwhile, came into the game with a 6-8-0 record and a four-game losing streak.
The Huskers got off to an early attacking start. Junior defender Jo Sees fired off the first shot of the match in the second minute, which set the tone for the Husker offense in the first half.Â
Through the first 39 minutes of the match, Nebraska had 16 shots, with six coming on goal, on top of eight corner kicks. Maryland keeper Faith Luckey stayed busy, notching six saves during that time.Â
“We had talked a lot about in practice, about coming out and playing together and playing the brand of soccer that we know how to play,” Anglim said.
In the 39th minute, Nebraska’s offensive efforts were finally rewarded, with Anglim converting a penalty kick to the top center of the net, following a Maryland handball.
“We have a group of us that kind of rotate through (taking penalty kicks),” Anglim said. “We had agreed that I was going to go and take the first one, so I kind of always knew that it would be me.”
The Terrapins’ offense mustered just one total shot during the whole first half to Nebraska’s 20.Â
While the first half possession was split 52-48 in Nebraska’s favor, 66% of the Huskers’ possession time was past Maryland’s penalty arc.
“I think people were just doing a really good job of taking them on one v one and creating stuff,” Anglim said. “Just creating an overload and overwhelming teams is part of our brand of Nebraska.”
Nebraska kept up the offensive pressure out of the halftime break. Freshman forward Carson Bohonek scored in the 51st minute, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside call.
The Terrapins’ offense came out of halftime off to a better start than the first, doubling their first half shot total in the first seven minutes of the second half. Senior Nebraska goalie Cece Villa had her first save of the game in the 56th minute.
For the Huskers’ 26th shot of the game, junior forward Ella Rudney pushed Nebraska ahead 2-0 on a goal to the bottom right on an assist from senior forward Reagan Raabe in the 62nd minute. The final shot tally was 29-6 in Nebraska’s favor.
Seniors Reagan Raabe, Cece Villa, Saide Waite and Lauryn Anglim were honored during senior day festivities, including having their numbers painted on the field for the contest.
“The connection and hard work and stuff that we’ve gone through together has built such a bond,” Anglim said, “I’m just excited and super grateful for that group of girls.”
Nebraska now sits at a 7-3-5 record following the 2-0 result, and its nine points tie it for 11th place in the Big Ten Conference.
Next week, the Huskers travel to California, facing USC (7-5-1) on Thursday and UCLA (8-4-2) on Sunday.