COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A pair of Zack Steffen penalty kick saves made the difference for the top-seeded Maryland men's soccer team as it advanced to the 2014 Big Ten Tournament championship against No. 5-seed Michigan State Friday afternoon at Ludwig Field.
Maryland (12-5-3) played the Spartans to a 0-0 tie through regulation before edging Michigan State (11-4-5) 3-2 in penalty kicks. Mael Corboz, Alex Shinsky and Tsubasa Endoh nailed their attempts to lift the Terps to a third-straight conference tournament title match.
Corboz, who was recently tabbed first team All-Big Ten, had the Terps' best two chances of the first half. His first strike trickled just wide of the post 21:40 into the match and his second also went wide with eight minutes remaining in the half.
Maryland controlled possession with a solid 8-2 shot advantage through the first 45 minutes and rolled that momentum into the second half as well.
Dan Metzger, another first team All-Big Ten selection, had another near-miss with 18 minutes remaining when his tap-in attempt from a Corboz free kick just outside the box sailed high.
Endoh had the Terps' final – and best - look of the final stanza when his header off a beautiful serve from Shinsky near the end line when just high of the crossbar. The junior from Tokyo, Japan, would also have Maryland's top chance of extra time, missing just wide on a rolling shot past the box with 56 seconds left in the second overtime period.
Michigan State did not have a shot on goal until five minutes remaining in the first overtime period. The Terps outshot the Spartans 13-8 on the day.
Maryland posted its ninth shutout of the year. The Terps have surrendered a mere six goals in their current 10-game unbeaten streak.
“I know this will go down as a tie but this certainly felt like a win because we played exceptionally well against one of the top teams in the country,” head coach Sasho Cirovski. “I thought our guys came out confident, aggressive and with a lot of quality, unfortunately we just couldn't find the back of the net.”
Maryland will battle No. 6 seed Indiana for a shot at a third-straight conference tournament crown Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Ludwig Field. The match will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.
