EAST LANSING, Mich. – A
Justin Gielen second half goal leveled the match and led to a 1-1 tie between the No. 25 Maryland men's soccer team and Michigan State at DeMartin Soccer Stadium Friday night. The match was called after 90 minutes after the field was deemed unplayable by the referees.
The XI
Niklas Neumann (GK)
Matt Di Rosa (LB),
Johannes Bergmann (LCB),
Brett St. Martin (RCB),
Ben Di Rosa (RB)
Eli Crognale (CM),
Nick Richardson (CM),
Malcolm Johnston (CAM)
Justin Harris (LW),
Justin Gielen (RW),
Eric Matzelevich (CF)
View From the Box
- The match involved three main actors on the night as the Terps, the Spartans and the pouring rain jockeyed for who would have the most effect on proceedings. Maryland was on the front foot for the majority of the match, outshooting Michigan State 16-7, with eight of those shots on target.
- The precipitation would prove to have the last laugh as an increasingly sloppy track ultimately forced the officials to halt the match after 90 minutes. Players on both sides were set to contest overtime, but came together to shake hands after a hard fought affair.
- That affair saw the Terps dominate the run of play, especially in the second half. The final 45 minutes were mostly played in the Spartan defensive half of the field as Maryland poured the pressure on looking for an equalizer.
- The leveler came in the 78th minute. Senior Johannes Bergmann floated in a free kick from midfield that Gielen met and headed past Hunter Morse. The goal was the first of the year for the sophomore.
- The Terps had two golden chances following Gielen's tally to win the match. In the 83rd minute, Brett St. Martin headed an Eli Crognale corner kick off the cross bar. In the final minutes, a ball fell to Malcolm Johnston in the box, but the freshman fired wide from close range.
- Prior to Gielen's goal, the Terps were all over the Spartans. St. Martin had a headed effort cleared just off the line by a Michigan State defender. Early in the half. Eric Matzelevich had an acrobatic close range effort saved by Morse.
- Michigan State grabbed the advantage on a Michael Pimlott goal with under two minutes remaining in the first half. Maryland had the better of the play throughout the opening half, but the Spartans capitalized on their best chance of the match.
- Gielen was effective throughout the night and had the best chance for the Terps in the first half. Freshman Justin Harris sent in a pretty ball over the top with the outside of his right foot that Gielen got his head to on the dive, but his shot was saved.
From The Boss
"I'm pleased with the effort of our guys tonight. I thought we deserved better. We had a lot of momentum in the second half. Unfortunately it's just a single point on the road, but the conditions were horrible and yet through that, our guys managed to play some really good soccer." –
Sasho Cirovski
From the Boys
"Throughout the year I've gotten close on headers, so it feels really good to see that go in. I feel like this is just the beginning and it will open the floodgates." –
Justin Gielen
Up Next
The Terps welcome two top flight opponents to College Park this week. No. 12 Georgetown comes to College Park Monday night with kickoff set for 7 p.m., on FS1. No. 4 Indiana is Maryland's opponent Friday night with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m., on BTN.
