When Michigan State goalkeeper Jimmy Hague dove and parried away his eighth save of the game, Maryland men’s soccer forward Eric Matzelevich let his instincts take over.
Growing up as an attacking player, he was always taught to crash the net for potential rebound opportunities. And there was no better time for Matzelevich to use that coaching than in overtime of the Big Ten quarterfinals, with his team fighting to extend its season.
In a scoreless tie with two minutes left in the first overtime, Hague’s save left the ball in front of net while he laid on the turf and Matzelevich stood in prime position to bury the goal that sent Maryland straight through to the Big Ten semifinals.
“It’s a striker’s instinct to follow up shots and put it in the back of the net,” Matzelevich said. “From playing soccer from a young age, they tell you to crash the box, so that’s what I did.”
The ball hit the back of the net for the first time all afternoon in the 98th minute, and Matzelevich raised his fist in the air as he teammates chased him down to celebrate their 1-0 upset win on the road against the No. 4-seed Spartans.
The No. 5-seed Terps couldn’t convert their first 18 shots of the afternoon, but Matzelevich’s knock-in secured revenge against for a 2-0 loss on Oct. 5 to the Spartans, a match in which Maryland had only four shots on goal.
“We felt outcompeted the last time we played them,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “Our team came through with flying colors. It was a complete team performance and the best overall performance of the season.”
Much of Sunday’s contest was no different than many other games this season for Maryland, which entered the Big Ten tournament with its lowest seeding since joining the conference in 2014. The Terps controlled possession, owned the shot advantage and probably deserved to be leading.
Aside from two free kicks from right outside the box, Michigan State couldn’t generate many threats early on. The Terps wall blocked the first and goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair controlled the second effort comfortably. Altogether, he made five huge saves to keep the Terps’ chances alive.
The final 20 minutes of regulation opened up, allowing counter attacks from both sides, but neither found a late winner. Forward Justin Gielen got on the end of a header in the 85th minute, but it rang off the crossbar, and the big moment still eluded Maryland.
“In the way that we moved the ball, everyone was on the same page,” Sejdic said. “It was quick, it was in, it was out. We knew when to go around and we really exploited them at times.”
Despite the bevy of shots, Maryland entered overtime for the eighth time in 17 games this season.
With two big wins in extra periods and another two disastrous losses, Maryland’s extra times had run the gamut throughout the year. But this chance came on a much larger stage.
“Experiencing the highs of winning in overtime and absolute lows … we know the whole spectrum,” Matzelevich said. “Losing in overtime is a much worse feeling than losing in a regular game. We wanted to win.”
Late into the first overtime period, Sejdic slipped a pass to forward Vinicius Lansade, who ripped a shot on target from distance. Hague’s save left an easy finish for Matzelevich, who one-timed the rebound for the golden goal.
It’s Maryland’s second consecutive win from a sudden-death goal, and it sets up another chance at revenge: Maryland will play No. 1-seed Indiana in Friday’s semifinals.
“We had a somewhat disappointing regular season, but this tournament is ours,” Matzelevich said. “We were ecstatic to get the goal and move on.”
