For better or for worse, Billy Cortes has had a flair for the dramatic recently.
Six days after the Terrapin men’s soccer midfielder was ejected for his role in a scuffle against Virginia last weekend, Cortes made Friday’s regular season finale one to remember for him and his senior teammates.
His second-half goal and assist on the game-winning goal erased a bumbling start to send off the No. 6 Terps’ (12-4-2) five seniors in style in a 2-1 comeback victory against the College of Charleston (10-9) .
“It was a great, hard-fought win, and I’m delighted that the seniors can walk off the field with a smile on their face,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “I thought we made it a little more difficult for ourselves, but Charleston came here and battled hard and really challenged us. We rose to the occasion, and I’m very happy with our young group.”
Charleston’s Matt Morris’ redirection past goalkeeper Zac MacMath in the 62nd minute broke a scoreless tie and threatened to turn the Senior Night match ugly. A crowd of 1,571 at Ludwig Field helped send off Kwame Darko, Tyler Mishalow, Doug Rodkey, Kevin Tangney and Drew Yates.
Cortes had been here before. On Oct. 9, the junior engineered a come-from-behind victory against Virginia Tech with a last-minute assist to forward John Stertzer for the game-winning score in the team’s 2-1 win.
Against Charleston, he did a little more. In the 70th minute, Cortes fought off two Cougar defenders to win a corner kick for midfielder Karou Forbess. His reward came almost instantly. A deflection inside the box bounced right to Cortes, who headed it up and over out-of-place goalkeeper Clark Hankins for the tying goal.
“He found the open spot and really put the ball in the only place where it could go in the net,” Cirovski said.
After catching his breath on the bench, Cortes re-entered the game with 7:53 left to play. Thirty-three seconds later, he was already celebrating. Cortes’ well-placed roller from the left flank found forward Casey Townsend uncovered in the box, who tapped it in easily from point-blank range for the go-ahead goal.
“The ball came through,” Townsend said, “and I had the easy part.”
On an offense that remains hamstrung by injuries both past and present, Cortes’ emergence Friday was doubly significant for both player and team alike. Earlier this season, the Mission Viejo, Calif., native filled in whenever injuries necessitated his presence. Now, Cortes has seemingly established himself as the Terps’ starting left midfielder.
It’s been a long time coming. After a productive freshman season followed by a largely invisible sophomore campaign derailed by immaturity and inconsistency, Cortes has enjoyed a renaissance this year.
“Early in the season, I just worked hard, got my opportunities, and I’ve been taking advantage of it,” said Cortes, who has started 12 of the team’s 18 games. “I feel like I’ve overcome that hump. I feel like I’m much more mature in everything I do, my play, my overall lifestyle. I feel good about it.”
Friday’s result was about the only thing that went the Terps’ way this weekend. As the Terps made their comeback, their worst-case ACC Tournament seeding scenario — wins for No. 2 North Carolina, No. 4 Wake Forest and Boston College — came to fruition. In one night, the Terps, who wrapped up their conference schedule last week, dropped from first to fourth in the league standings.
The Terps will face off against No. 7 Virginia in Wednesday’s quarterfinal action in Cary, N.C. The Cavaliers posted their fifth straight shutout in a 1-0 win over N.C. State on Saturday to clinch the fifth seed.
“It’s been a rough last month, but we’re inching our way back,” Cirovski said. “Now, we’re just looking forward to the challenge of the ACC Tournament.”
shaffer@umdbk.com
