COLLEGE PARK, Md. – With three minutes left, the desperation was setting in. Maryland was playing down a goal for the first time since October 5.
A long pass ahead to a sprinting George Campbell was broken up by the UMBC keeper. Two minutes ticked by, faster than usual, and Maryland pushed forward, scrambling to fling balls toward the net after the Retrievers persisted with out-of-bounds time killers.
The clock reached zero and the No. 4-seeded Terrapins' 11-game unbeaten streak, and season, had vanished with a 1-0 loss to the in-state rival. Senior Alex Shinsky and junior Mael Corboz sat slumped on the Ludwig grass, wearing gold jerseys that hadn't endured a loss all season.
“That's one of the biggest wins in our school history, I think in any sport,” said UMBC head coach Pete Caringi.
It's hard to argue, as it's the first time the program will be moving on to the third round, while it breaks a streak of 12 consecutive third round appearances for the Terps.
“We finally came down here and we won,” said junior Malcolm Harris, who scored the game's only goal. “UMBC is not usually picked to win here and there's a lot of people who didn't pick us to win and that's just the thing,” said Harris. “We wanted to prove everyone wrong.”
Playing with an edge in the first half, Maryland (13-6-3) had some chances early on, notching three shots on goal to UMBC's zero.
In the 21st minute, midfielder Mael Corboz stepped back and assessed a 25-yard free kick much like the one that claimed the Big Ten Championship. The junior fired to his right where a diving Billy Heavner broke its path, keeping the game scoreless.
But the momentum would shift, as the Retrievers (13-5-4) came out of the break attacking, outshooting Maryland 9-4 the rest of the way and notching the game-winner in the 70th minute.
It seemed only a matter of time, as Maryland appeared on their heels for much of the stanza. UMBC gained possession in Terps' territory, feeding it out wide to senior forward Kay Banjo. His low attempt from close range was saved by Zack Steffen, but the rebound found the foot of Malcolm Harris who chipped one between the unoccupied posts.
“This game was going to take an effort goal,” said Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski. “They ended up picking up a loose ball, we were unbalanced, and ended up finding a way to get a goal in the back of the net.”
Shades of the Terps' 0-0 tie with UMBC earlier in the season haunted the goal-starved offense, trying to put one past a “stingy” defense. Aside from Corboz, who led Maryland with 10 goals this season, scoring sources were often unpredictable for the adversity-laden team.
“We've been able to manufacture different ways to score all year with different people and sometimes when you don't have a go-to guy that can be your threat in tough games like this, you see it really come back to bite you,” said Cirovski.
Despite what the Maryland coach described as a lack of energy in the second half, Cirovski said the season was one of the most satisfying of his career. A team that was 3-5-2 through 10 matches in early October, climbed from a long shot to make the tournament, to the Big Ten regular-season and tournament champions in their inaugural season in the conference.
“I think this is the proud bunch, the group that was resilient, that didn't quit, that found a way and yet still gave us one of the great seasons,” said Cirovski. “We're not used to losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament, it's new to all of us, but it's part of the cycle. I have nothing but pride in our program. We know how to win; we also know how to lose.”
The rowdy Crew and raucous UMBC section fused in full force, as part of an announced crowd of 3,776, creating the usual buzz of postseason soccer in College Park, an atmosphere built by Cirovski in his 22-year reign. If nothing else, the loss showed the program that Maryland has become and the type of team that will be back to fight next season.
“Everywhere we go, we play in front of record crowds and we get everybody's best A-game,” said Cirovski. “Ludwig Field is a special stage and we've taken a lot of punches from a lot of people and we've come on the top end the majority of times. Today, unfortunately…they get to move on and that's soccer.”
Ben Strack, a senior journalism major at the University of Maryland, is a contributing writer to umterps.com.
