COLLEGE PARK, MD –  The Maryland men's soccer team managed to hold off UMBC, 4-3 after a frantic final few minutes. In what was a defensive showcase in their last game against Charlotte, Maryland flipped the script on Sunday night and exploded offensively against their in-state rivals in front of 4,089 raucous fans. Justin Gielen's 18th minute goal was answered just a minute later by the Retrievers, but the Terps just kept attacking. Goals by Ben Bender and Malcolm Johnston put the Terps up 3-1. Jacen Russell-Rowe's goal in the second half made it 4-1 but the team had to hold off a second half comeback to put away their in-state rival.


First Half Fireworks

• Maryland broke through in the 18th minute thanks to a goal by senior Justin Gielen after a long send in by defender Chris Rindov.
• Just over 15 minutes later, a long entry by Nick Richardson gave Ben Bender enough time to pick his spot and he decided to go five-hole between the goalie's legs, much to the delight of Maryland's student section, The Crew.
• Malcom Johnston joined the party four minutes later as wonderful passes from Joe Suchecki and Jacen Russell-Rowe set the forward up for an easy goal.  

Frenetic Finish

• After Jacen Russell-Rowe's goal, it looked as if Maryland would cruise to a blowout victory but that wasn't the case. 
• The Retrievers scored two quick goals to crawl back into the game but a strong defensive stand allowed the Terps to hold on.

Goalie Carousel 

• After Jamie Lowell got the start on Thursday against Charlotte, it was Niklas Neumann's turn to step onto Ludwig Field for his first action of the season.
• The junior from Germany came up huge in the 30th minute as an errant pass led to a breakaway opportunity for UMBC that was ultimately batted away and recovered by Neumann. 
• Neumann totaled four saves on seven shots, including the highlight reel one.

Hot Crowd

• The Crew was out in force the day before classes begin as both student sections behind the goals were filled to capacity, haunting the UMBC goalie every time he touched the ball.
• The general seating areas were also filled with loud Maryland fans that gave the home team the extra boost needed to win the game in front of a crowd of 4,089. 

From The Coach
"People love Maryland soccer because we love to entertain. We put on a great show for the fans, thankfully in a victory. For about 81 minutes we played outstanding tonight. We really dictated the tempo, the flow of the game, the only disappointing thing is we didn't handle the mental moments after our goals very well. We gave up a goal in the first half off of a sloppy giveaway from a counterattack. To UMBC's credit they never gave up and they made it very interesting in the last 8 minutes of the game so you have to give them a lot of credit. I know what this game means to them and it also means a great deal to us. I think the big value is that there will be many teachable moments in this game from some of our breakdowns that we had so we will work to correct those things leading into the next game. It's nice that we can learn through victory and not defeat so all in all it was an outstanding performance from our guys with some teachable moments to learn from and once again I am delighted and ecstatic with the turnout tonight. The students were in full force, the community was out and for a Sunday night at 7:30 it was great to have this kind of crowd. It was just amazing. It once again shows that this is the best place for college soccer in the country."

Up Next

• The Terps will play their third straight game at home as they'll welcome the George Mason Patriots to College Park. 
• Maryland holds the series edge 6-1 and is a perfect 4-0 at Ludwig Field against the Patriots.