Aug. 19, 2005

Box Score

AKRON, Ohio - The second-ranked Maryland Terrapins got a second half goal from Robbie C'deBaca to defeat No. 19 Connecticut, 1-0, in the first game of the Westfield Cup in Akron, Ohio. The Terrapins advance to the finals of the preseason tournament and will face either Akron or Southern Methodist.

The finals will be played on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

C'deBaca's goal came in the 66th minute after freshman Matt Beckman rifled a free kick through the Huskie wall that bounced off the post where C'deBaca quickly settled and deposited it past keeper Alex Horwath.

Goalkeeper Craig Salvati went the distance between the pipes for the Terps and stopped three shots to record the shutout.

"It was a good game for us especially considering the short time we've had together," head coach Sasho Cirovski said. "Our team defense, in general, was quite good. It was very gratifying to get everyone we had available into the game against a high quality team. That will serve us well in the future.

The Terps played without regulars Jason Garey and Chris Lancos who were each nursing minor injuries.

The two teams slowly worked themselves into the flow of the game until Stephen King and Marc Burch began to create some offense for the Terrapins. The two played give-and-go three times in the first half that nearly resulted in a goal. UConn's Chuckwudi Chijindu used his speed to hassle the Terrapin defense which forced four early corners for the Huskies. Salvati, though, was able to cleanly play the corners despite the windy conditions. UConn showed six corners in the first half but just two shots, neither of which were on frame. The Terps, meanwhile, forced Horvath to make two saves in the first 45 minutes.

The Huskies pressured Maryland early in the second with two shots on goal, but Maryland came through with the game-winner after a foul just outside the 18-yard box gave Beckman his free kick opportunity. C'deBaca, who missed the entire 2004 season with a broken leg, converted for the game-winner.

UConn had a two good runs towards the end of the game, including a shot and a save as time expired, but could not come up with a score.

Maryland        0        1        1
UConn           0        0        0
Shots: MD: 6+6=12; UC: 2+4=6
SOG: MD: 2+1=3; UC: 0+3=3
Saves: MD: 0+3=3; UC: 2+0=2
Fouls: MD: 2+4=6; UC: 4+7=11
Corners: MD: 0+4=4; UC: 6+0=6