CARSON, CALIF. – Jason Garey tried to answer an unusual question.
The Terrapin men’s soccer forward, who minutes before suffered an agonizing defeat in the national semifinals, is part of one of eight programs to have reached three-straight College Cups. The Terps’ 3-2 double-overtime loss to Indiana Friday made them just the second of those eight programs to not win a national title during their streak. Garey was asked which loss hurt more.
“[This] definitely hurt a lot. I can’t say that it hurt any more than any of the other three,” said Garey, who finished with 22 goals and a Terp single season record in points (53). “We got to the final four. Only four teams can do that. We’ve done it three years in a row. I think that should be focused on more than anything. We’re going to win one.”
Garey’s answer was common for the post-game news conference. Despite the loss, the Terps are still proud to have reached the national semifinals.
After starting the season with outsiders wondering how the team could replace key players lost from back-to-back College Cup squads, the Terps (17-6-2) came within 48 seconds and penalty kicks of playing in the national championship.
They overcame their first four-game winless streak since 1993. They overcame mid-season injuries to star forward Abe Thompson. And they overcame a poor defensive stretch that saw the Terps allow four goals twice this season.
“At that point, I think a lot of people throughout the country kind of questioned where our program was at and how we ended up as ranked in the season,” junior defender Kenney Bertz said. “But we finished up the end of the season very strong. The only disappointment I see is just not winning it all. It’s not a failure by any means.”
The Terps scored 29 goals in their first five games, including a 5-2 win over then No. 2-ranked St. John’s at Ludwig Field. The Red Storm knocked the Terps from the 2003 College Cup.
But in the next four games, the Terps looked incapable of reaching the national semifinals. A tie at N.C. State preceded three losses, at unranked William & Mary, home to Duke and at Wake Forest. Terrapin coach Sasho Cirovski and his players blamed the stretch on overconfidence, saying it restored their humility.
Two wins appeared to turn the Terps’ season around, but they lost an embarrassing 4-1 defeat at home to Penn State the next game. Cirovski kept the players in the trailer well after the loss. The team held its own meeting for several minutes after Cirovski left.
Then at Virginia Tech, the Terps lost a 1-0 lead with less than a minute left, later winning on a penalty kick from freshman midfielder Stephen King in overtime. The victory started an eight game winning streak that included five shutouts.
The winning streak also saw the resurgence of senior midfielder Domenic Mediate, who scored six goals in six games while senior forward Abe Thomson (11 goals, seven assists) nursed a sore hamstring. Mediate’s offense (nine goals, nine assists) made the Terps that much more dangerous. And when King (seven goals, five assists) started to score too, the Terps felt they had regained their swagger.
Behind three assists from junior defender Chris Lancos, the Terps overcame two one-goal deficits against North Carolina in the semifinals of the ACC tournament to face Virginia, losing 2-1 after failing to convert down the stretch.
But the Terps’ end-of-season run gave them their third-straight top-four seed in the NCAA tournament. They received a bye in the first week and knocked off Hofstra in the second round behind four second-half goals.
Creighton forced the Terps to penalty kicks in the third round, but the Terps prevailed 5-4 and entered the quarterfinals with a rematch against St. John’s.
The game was much different from the Terps’ 5-2 rout during the regular season. Neither team scored in the first half, but sophomore midfielder A.J. Godbolt – who had two goals and six assists after never previously attempting a shot – scored the game winner, propelling the Terps to Carson, Calif., for the College Cup.
And despite the 3-2 loss, the Terps saw their season as a success.
“We have a lot of resolve,” Cirovski said. “We’re going to work hard and try to come back here. One of these days, things will happen.”
The game was the last for Thompson, Palmer, Mediate and senior midfielder Ian Rodway, one of the Terps’ best classes in recent history.
“All you can ask for your players is to put the kind of effort that creates respect for the name on the front of the jersey and the name on the back of the jersey,” Cirovski said. “And our players did that.”
The class led the Terps to three College Cups. And Cirovski said the Terps are that much closer to their national title.
“I feel like we’re very close. When you set high goals and you want to climb the highest mountain, you set yourself up for hard falls,” Cirovski said. “One of these days we might get a break. … It’s just a matter of time.
