COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Terps handed No. 3 Penn State its first loss of the season Sunday afternoon, scoring two goals in each half and cruising to a second straight victory, 4-0.
Sunday's autumn sky fittingly summarized Maryland's season thus far as blue blotches graced the cloud cover throughout. The momentum-shifting win over the undefeated Nittany Lions was a rare ray of light in an overcast first stretch, and by the final whistle, the sunshine had claimed the day.
“The adversity we've dealt with this year, I think there were signs today that it's making us stronger,” said head coach Sasho Cirovski. “It's a transformational game for us.”
Mael Corboz kicked things off in the 13th minute as a cross from Mikey Ambrose found the junior midfielder driving uncovered in the box, left-footing the ball off the pass in the right corner of the net from ten yards out.
The Terps (5-5-2) would find themselves with an opportunity to extend the lead in the 32nd minute after Penn State senior defender Eli Dennis tripped up David Kabelik in the box, setting up Maryland's fourth penalty kick attempt of the year. Corboz – the PK specialist – launched a beam inside the left post past a diving Andrew Wolverton to notch his fifth goal of the year and his second of the afternoon.
Cirovski made sure his team stayed on their front foot in the next 45 minutes, telling them to focus on winning the next half. They did so convincingly, making it “the best performance of the year,” according to the 22-year Maryland coach.
Nearly eight minutes into the second stanza, senior Alex Shinsky further riled up the 2,502 in attendance with an easy finish from five yards out after Jereme Raley's preceding shot got acquainted with the crossbar. Tsubasa Endoh added a goal in the 82nd minute leaving Wolverton's head in the grass, trying to get used to the reality of being scored on.
The dominant Nittany Lions (10-1-1) came to College Park looking to showcase its squad that had outscored opponents 21-3. Penn State's Wolverton – who allowed all four goals Sunday – had only given up two in the 10 games he had played. The senior claimed Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year accolades last season and is the reigning conference defender of the week.
“We don't really worry about that,” said Corboz, referring to Wolverton's impressive play this season. “We have enough quality on our team that if we just focus on ourselves technically and all that, we'll put away four goals on anyone.”
For a team that has struggled moving ample chances from the pitch to the scoreboard, the marquee matchup motivated the hungry team to capitalize on enough opportunities and move up in the conference.
Following a disappointing overtime loss to Northwestern that also resulted in a one-game suspension for Cirovski, the Terps have won two straight, and treat each game as “do or die,” according to Shinsky.
Corboz said the goal of winning eight games in a row to end the regular season is still alive, and that heartbreaker in Illinois helped fuel their focus once again.
“We've hit a lot of goal posts, a lot of crossbars, a lot of near misses all year long,” said Cirovski. “It's nice to see when you work hard and do things the right way I think good things come back around.”
Ben Strack, a senior journalism major at the University of Maryland, is a contributing writer to umterps.com.
