Mar 24, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; The Maryland Terrapins mascot performs during the first half against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

The Marchiano Era in Maryland Begins with Dominant Season-Opening Win

Originally posted on Maryland Terrapins on SI
By Jalon Dixon | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 8:29 AM ET

The Maryland women’s soccer program has been in the wilderness for two years. Scoring droughts. Winless Big Ten stretches. A head coaching change midseason. But on Thursday night at Ludwig Field, the Terps looked like a team ready to shed their past.

Marchiano Making His Mark Early

Under new head coach Michael Marchiano, Maryland delivered a statement in a 3-0 dismantling of Lehigh to open the 2025 season. The win pushed Maryland’s unbeaten streak in season openers to nine straight years — but this one felt different.

Last fall, Marchiano took over as interim after Meghan Ryan Nemzer was dismissed in October, guiding the team to its first and only Big Ten win. The former Maryland men’s soccer standout earned the full-time job this offseason with a clear vision: raise the program’s competitive standard. One game in, the tone is set.

“We want to make sure that we give a really high-level effort every single time we put on the Maryland jersey,” Marchiano said. “It’s a good place to start. It always feels good to win, but we want to feel this again and again.”

Feeling good after last night! pic.twitter.com/6sLXjME60z
— Maryland W. Soccer (@TerpsWSoccer) August 15, 2025

Maryland Dominated From the Jump

From the opening whistle, Maryland’s energy was undeniable. Redshirt junior captain Kelsey Smith sliced through Lehigh’s defense for an unassisted opener in the 20th minute.

Two minutes later, fellow captain Ava Morales doubled the lead off a corner kick scramble, assisted by newcomers Alyssa Abramson and Ella Bulava. Morales then drilled a 42nd-minute strike from outside the 18 to make it 3-0 — Maryland’s first three-goal first half since September 2024.

The defense did its part, too. In her first collegiate start, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Faith Luckey made three saves to secure a clean sheet. Maryland’s back line held Lehigh without a goal for the third straight meeting between the programs.

Terps Just Getting Started

While season-opening wins aren’t new for Maryland, dominant ones have been rare in recent years. This was their largest margin of victory in an opener since 2021 and their first three-goal win since last September.

But Marchiano knows one game isn’t a cure-all. “As the season wears on, there will be challenges, there will be fatigue, there will be injuries, there will be different adversities we face,” he said. “But we just want to do this again.”

For a program desperate for momentum, Thursday night wasn’t just a win. It was a declaration that the rebuilding process is underway — and Maryland’s ready to fight for more.

This article first appeared on Maryland Terrapins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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