Women’s Soccer Falls 1-0 to No. 18 Maryland; Watch Video Highlights

The American University women's soccer team was defeated by No. 18 Maryland 1-0 on Wednesday afternoon at Reeves Field, snapping the Eagles' three-match winning streak.

American (3-2) jumped out of the gate quickly, driving the ball deep into Maryland territory. AU's Patricia Bailey fired a shot on goal, which was saved by Maryland goalkeeper Mary Casey. After that point, Maryland (6-0) controlled the action in the half, although the Terrapins weren't able to find the back of the net thanks to the good play of AU goalkeeper Arianna Efstathiou.

After remaining scoreless at the start of the second half, Maryland was able to connect in the 49th minute with a goal by Jasmyne Spencer. She headed the ball past Efstathiou from short range off a pass from Caitlin McDowell.

The Eagles had only a few good scoring opportunities throughout the match, although they made a late push in the second half for the game-tying attempt. In the 73rd minute, American's Kelsey Brasher had a break-away opportunity, but was tripped up from behind just outside the Maryland goalbox. The Eagles were awarded a free kick, but they couldn't make anything of the scoring chance.

With less than four minutes to play, AU's final scoring opportunity came on a shot from Bailey from the right side, which was blocked by Casey.

For the match, the Terps outshot AU 20-4. Efstathiou was fantastic for the Eagles in goal, recording 10 saves on numerous difficult chances.

"I was proud of the way our team fought for 90 minutes and came alive in the last 20 minutes of the match," commented American Head Coach David Bucciero. "We need to continue to improve our possession of the ball and move it quicker in order to beat a team like Maryland."

The Eagles will hit the road for its next match, squaring off against Radford on Sunday, September 13 at 1 p.m. The match can be watched in live streaming video on the Big South Network. American's next home match will be next Friday, September 18 versus Loyola (Md.) at 4 p.m.