Overtime was the last thing Maryland men’s soccer coach Sasho Cirovski said he wanted against Georgetown on a hot and humid day.
The Terps played three days earlier in a 2-0 loss against No. 13 Michigan State, in which Cirovski said they logged the most running distance of the season due to their lack of possession. With the temperature Monday afternoon in the mid-80s and the offensive chances not resulting in goals, Maryland was forced into its fifth overtime game of the season.
Despite conceding 21 shots on the road, Maryland clung to a scoreless draw to leave Shaw Field with a share of the spoils against its local foe.
“I think we put everything that we had left in the tank out there,” goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair said. “After the final whistle, a bunch of guys dropped to the ground because they really put everything they had into the game.”
To combat the conditions, Maryland kept its offensive players fresh by substituting regularly throughout the contest. In the first half alone, six Maryland reserves entered in the final 20 minutes. A majority of the forwards and attacking midfielders received ample rest heading into halftime.
While the Maryland bench provided a spark late in the opening period, it couldn’t generate a goal with most of its starters momentarily out of the game. The Terps were also without midfielder Eli Crognale, who served his one-game suspension Monday after receiving a red card Friday night.
Forward Justin Gielen entered in the 31st minute, getting a shot blocked two minutes into his appearance before nearly setting up a goal for midfielder Amar Sejdic.
Despite the strategic use of substitutes, neither side could break through. While Maryland (4-4-3) and Georgetown (6-3-3) combined for 35 shots, Cirovski said each team only had two quality opportunities. Only 12 of those shots were put on target.
Both sides traded possession throughout the game, but neither sustained momentum for large stretches of time. The pair of defenses thwarted many offensive chances in the box before a shot could be taken.
“I think we played within ourselves and did what we had to do in our gameplan,” defender Donovan Pines said. “But at the end of the day we need to convert our opportunities.”
Sejdic took a left-footed shot in the 63rd minute that deflected off two Hoyas defenders and began flying toward an empty side of the net. Goalkeeper Giannis Nikopolidis scampered to recover, but the shot bounced just wide of the net, earning the Terps a corner but nothing more.
Sejdic looked at the ground, seemingly aware of how close his team came to a fortunate breakthrough in a scoreless game.
Georgetown had a similar chance in the first overtime period after a ball sent into the box created a scrum that left St. Clair out of the play. Midfielder Ethan Lochner collected the ball with the net uncovered, but sent the would-be game-winner above the frame.
With the Terps growing tired, Georgetown had a 5-1 shot advantage during the 20 minutes of overtime as they opted to absorb pressure and search for a chance to catch the Hoyas off guard in transition.
“We had two quality looks at a counter attack, but we just didn’t execute,” Cirovski said. “That’s been our issue all year.”
For the second consecutive game, the Terps’ offense stalled, failing to make the connections necessary to score. The 0-0 draw marks the sixth time Maryland has been shutout this season, more than half of its games.
Despite the team’s third scoreless draw of the season, Cirovski was pleased with his team’s resolve in “a survival game” that neither team managed to find the appropriate final touch in the attacking third.
“I challenged our guys to compete for a full 90 minutes,” Cirovski said. “Today, they did and then they competed for the full 110. It was a very good effort on the road against a quality team.”
