Maryland and Georgetown added another chapter to a growing men’s soccer rivalry Friday night with a riveting match decided in the final minute before an overflow crowd in College Park.
The seventh-ranked Terrapins prevailed, 2-1, when Gordon Wild, who shared the national scoring crown last year while at a small program in South Carolina, converted the rebound of his failed penalty kick with 44 seconds left.
Wild, who drew the penalty, drove the shot down the middle. JT Marcinkowski, one of the nation’s elite goalkeepers, had dived to his right and stopped the shot with his legs. The ball ricocheted back to the German-born sophomore forward for a routine finish.
“I am so happy,” Wild said, “that somehow the ball came back to me.”
The Terrapins (2-0-1) ended a three-game winless rut against the 24th-ranked Hoyas, who lost their third straight to start the season and fell in the final minute for the second time. In the opener, they were beaten by top-ranked Akron, 1-0, on a late goal.
The suspenseful finish before 7,413 at Ludwig Field — the fourth largest in venue history — closed a match that swung in Maryland’s favor early in the second half on sophomore Eryk Williamson’s goal and turned in the 84th on freshman Ifunanyachi Achara’s equalizer.
“Another magical Friday night at Ludwig.” Terrapins Coach Sasho Cirovski said. Maryland “showed great character after giving up a goal. Our guys responded well. … Our team showed some toughness.”
The game was heading toward overtime when Wild split two defenders in the box and was taken down. There was contact, but enough for the referee to award a penalty kick?
“It takes a strong referee to be in this environment,” Hoyas Coach Brian Wiese said. “Whether you make that call or don’t make that call, it takes a strong referee. Obviously, we are on the sorry side of that one, so we’re thinking he needed to be stronger in a different way.”
The teams entered the season in different stages: Maryland is built for now, Georgetown with eyes on the future.
After going 63-15-13 the previous four seasons, Wiese sent his entire backline to the pros, including MLS first-round draft picks Keegan Rosenberry and Josh Yaro. Attackers Brandon Allen and Alex Muyl signed MLS homegrown deals with the New York Red Bulls.
The strengths are in goal with the Marcinkowski (U.S. under-20 national team) and midfielder Arun Basuljevic, a Red Bulls prospect, but with six freshmen and sophomores in the lineup, Wiese will preach patience.
“They are growing up very fast,” he said. “You are starting to see some personalities take some shape. … I told them I will tell them when they have to start worrying about their record. If we can continue to build on the performance, by the end of the year, we will be okay.”
The Terrapins are championship caliber with an experienced goalkeeper and backline, dynamic youth national team players and two impact transfers, including Wild, who starred last year at the University of South Carolina-Upstate.
The Hoyas absorbed Maryland’s pressure and provided the highlight of the first half. Achara, from Nigeria via Massachusetts prep school, struck an audacious bicycle kick from close range, forcing Cody Niedermeier to make a reflex save.
Achara was a menacing figure throughout the night against a Maryland backline featuring three seniors. Moments before the goal, Achara met Dylan Nealis’s cross in the box but was too heavy with his touch and wasn’t able to test Niedermeier.
Williamson, a D.C. United homegrown prospect from Alexandria, collected Amar Sejdic’s gorgeous through ball in stride and nudged the ball past the charging Marcinkowski.
With about six minutes left, Matt Ledder crossed to Achara at the back post for the Hoyas’ first goal of the season.
Maryland, though, had the final say.
“For what they lost last year, they are still a high-quality team,” Cirovski said. “Their best soccer is ahead of them, but I think ours is too. We are nowhere near where we are going to be.”
