Reserve Forward Jake Pace has scored three goals this season.
Matt Shagogue has a daily reminder of Nov. 17, 2007 in his house.
That night, Shagogue’s River Hill boys’ soccer team secured its eighth state title in school history with a 3-2 overtime win over Loch Raven.
Every day, Shagogue sees Jake Pace, frozen in time, smiling and sprinting shirtless across the field at South River, whipping his navy blue jersey over his head with his jubilant teammates in pursuit.
Pace, now a forward for the Terrapins men’s soccer team, had just headed in a corner kick for the game-winning goal in overtime. It wasn’t his first taste of a championship — he won numerous titles with his club team, the Soccer Association of Columbia — but it meant the most to him.
“At that point, it was the highlight of my soccer career because it’s pretty much what I’d worked for,” Pace said. “It just meant a lot more in high school because you’re playing for your school.”
Now one of the top bench players for a No. 3 Terps team that will face No. 14 Old Dominion tonight in Norfolk, Va., Pace aims to help bring the Terps their first national championship since 2008.
“I wanted that feeling with Maryland, too,” Pace said of his high school title. “I’ve been constantly pushing myself, and I’m looking for us to get that national championship. I know that’s going to be the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life.”
That straightforward thought process has helped Pace navigate his share of twists and turns the past five years.
After playing forward his first three years of high school, Pace moved to the midfield for his senior season. Coach Sasho Cirovski, however, thought Pace had the potential to anchor the defense at center back and decided to redshirt him to save a year of eligibility.
But that marriage didn’t work out. Pace wanted to return to the offense, and eventually helped convince Cirovski to let him play forward. He appeared in six games in 2010, played in 12 contests last season and notched two goals in a 2-0 win over Adelphi on Oct. 11.
It all led up to his emergence this season. Through six games, Pace is third on the Terps with three goals, including a header off a corner kick Friday night at No. 18 N.C. State that tied the game late in the first half.
“He just shows up every single day, works his butt off and is eager for any chance he gets,” Cirovski said. “If Jake gets 30 seconds in a game, you know it’s going to be the best 30 seconds he can give you. Over time, he really endears himself to the coaches and the players. As a result, we’ve seen the success.”
Cirovski called the Columbia native an inspirational leader who “epitomizes the character of our program.” When Pace enters the game, he’s looking to win and he’s looking to score.
“He’s very energetic,” reserve forward Jordan Cyrus said. “He’s always ready to play. Warming up with him on the sidelines to get ready to go in, he’s always getting pumped up to go in and prove himself, and he’s just scoring goals which is awesome to watch.”
Pace stand out on a team filled with smaller, speedy players (forwards Schillo Tshuma and Christiano Francois) and slight scorers (midfielder John Stertzer).
At 6-foot-2 and 208 pounds, Pace presents a matchup problem for many opposing defenders. The former high school wrestler creates another dimension for Cirovski’s offense, barreling through players as he attacks the goal.
Even if the ball isn’t on his foot, he’s still making things happen. In the second half of Friday’s game, an N.C. State player pulled Pace down inside the box. Stertzer converted the ensuing penalty kick to give the Terps a 3-1 lead.
“Jake just completely changes the pace of the game when he comes in,” Shagogue said. “But his ruggedness and strength changes the dynamics of a lot of things. … You prepare for something and one thing, and boom, they throw you in a curveball with Jake and the game changes completely with how physical it turns.”
“I think he could be a great Division I football player,” Cirovski said.
Of course, Pace isn’t concerned with lifting a crystal football. He is focused on winning the College Cup in Hoover, Ala., in December. By then, he’ll be five years and three position changes removed from hitting that game winner in his high school state championship game.
Pace still remembers the euophoria he felt on that chilly November night. He uses it as motivation to remind himself what it takes to reach the top.
“It’s the hard work that you put in outside that nobody sees, and it really comes back,” Pace said. “At that moment, it was everything we’d worked for as a team. We had actually done it. That experience is something I’m definitely looking forward to again with the Maryland team.”
dgallen@umdbk.com
