The moment Maryland men’s soccer forward Vinicius Lansade made contact with the ball in the 27th minute Tuesday against Penn State, he knew he was a breath away from his first career goal.
Forward Sebastian Elney flicked a throw-in toward the center of the box, where Lansade was fighting for position. A lunging Nittany Lion attempted to clear the ball out of danger, but the ball never made it out of the box because his teammate stood in the way.
The redirection fell perfectly to Lansade’s feet in the middle of the scrum. He took one touch, turned his body and buried the left-footed strike into the side netting to put the Terps up 1-0, the beginning of an efficient first half in Maryland’s 3-2 overtime win over Penn State.
“It was a sloppy, sloppy play,” Lansade joked. “I was waiting in the box trying to see, trying to find a hole in there, and the ball ended up popping back in, and I just turned and finished real quick.”
[Read more: After conceding 2 tough goals, Maryland men’s soccer recovered to beat Penn State]
Lansade didn’t shoot again for the remainder of the game, but his early strike gave Maryland a lead on only its second attempt of the day. The Terps scored again on their next shot — 17 minutes later — expanding their edge to 2-0.
Coach Sasho Cirovski noticed the change in his team’s energy once Lansade took the field midway through the first half.
“Vini is a technical player, and he’s very good at finding small gaps,” Cirovski said. “When he got in, he really got a hold of the ball. We didn’t have a lot of great possession in the first 15 or 20 minutes even though we were playing quite well.”
Lansade has been a regular substitute this season, usually coming off the bench at some point in the opening period to give the starting attackers rest. He’s also earned three starts because of sporadic team injuries and illnesses.
[Read more: With one week left, Maryland men’s soccer is “starting to believe” in its attack]
On Tuesday, with forward Paul Bin nursing a right ankle injury, Lansade assumed a larger role again. His 52 minutes were the most among the Terps’ reserves.
Thanks to the early 2-0 cushion, Cirovski was able to keep the ailing Bin on the bench for most of the game.
“Vini is a specular freshman,” Bin said. “He’s going to be world class in the upcoming years. He’s shown he can change the course of the game with just a simple play by himself.”
Penn State rallied down the stretch and tied the score in the 84th minute, prompting Cirovski to put Bin in. With Lansade’s performance allowing Bin to rest most of the game, he looked fresh amid the lethargic Nittany Lions defenders, and he ended up delivering the golden goal in the second overtime.
Lansade credits Bin for being a role model for him throughout his freshman campaign.
“He’s been a mentor because I had a tough time in the beginning getting used to the team and relationships,” Lansade said. “He’s always been there and helping me and supporting me.”
That support finally paid off Tuesday night, with Lansade becoming the third freshman to score this season for Maryland.
Bin’s goal — Maryland’s third of the game — came on the team’s 13th shot, which Cirovski said was the most efficient performance they’ve had all season. It all started with Lansade, who took advantage of his one and only shot opportunity of the night.
“It’s good that we have a player like Vini,” Bin said. “ He comes on, changes the game, changes the flow of the game, does his thing. … It’s just good for the team morale.”
