Terps huddle up before they played their final regular season match against Ohio State at Ludwig Field on Nov 1, 2014.
While scouting Ohio State in preparation for the Terrapins men’s soccer game Saturday night, midfielder Dan Metzger noticed how the Buckeyes operate offensively.
The Buckeyes play a direct style, moving the ball through their defenders on the left side of the field. Saturday, the Terps executed their game plan and stymied nearly every Buckeyes attack attempt near midfield.
It allowed the Terps to control the ball for most of the contest and outshoot the Buckeyes 13-4. And while the Terps’ only goal in the 1-0 win came when forward George Campbell converted on a 75th-minute header, the possession dominance reflected a seasonlong trend.
“We would’ve liked to have been a goal up, or maybe two, in the first half,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “The services were good; the runs maybe could be a little better. We had some good chances in the run of play as well.”
The Terps have outshot opponents 222-120 this year, but the bulk of their dominance usually comes later in games. The Terps have a plus-61 shot differential in the second half, while 18 of their 28 goals have come in the final frame.
Cirovski attributed the Terps’ late-game offensive success to their scoring diversity. The Terps don’t boast a primary scorer, but 11 players have found the back of the net this season.
“You have [Alex] Shinsky, [Michael] Sauers, [Mikias Eticha], Tsubasa [Endoh],” Cirovski said. “We have a bunch of different guys that can score. That’s becoming a strength.”
The depth in the attacking third allows the Terps to alter their offensive focus from game to game. Defenses can’t plan to focus on just one attacker; they have to worry about the entire team.
Midfielder Mael Corboz leads the Terps with seven goals and 40 shots. Midfielder Alex Shinsky is second with 23 shots.
Corboz, a transfer from Rutgers, didn’t score his first goal with the Terps until the end of September, but he’s notched six goals since Oct. 1. Even further, he’s gone a perfect 4-for-4 on penalty kicks this year.
“We looked at him for play-building and playmaking,” midfielder Jake Areman said. “We focus on trying to get him to the ball in dangerous spots, so he can make dangerous opportunities and score.”
Corboz didn’t make much of an impact against Ohio State, though, recording just one shot. But in the 38th minute, his free kick from about 20 yards out sailed just high of the net. He scored from a similar distance in the Terps’ 3-1 win over Santa Clara on Oct. 25.
Corboz’s shot didn’t find the back of the net, but Campbell’s did. It marked Campbell’s second goal in three games, and he scored his first career goal against Santa Clara.
“Once the goals start coming, his confidence is going to build,” Shinsky said. “It’s great to see him relaxing a bit. … He’s one of those guys who does extra stuff and really is determined to get better himself.”
Last season, the offense flowed through former forward Patrick Mullins. Mullins, a two-time Hermann Trophy winner, scored 19 goals, good for more than a third of the team’s offensive production.
The Terps don’t have a player of Mullins’ caliber this year, but Cirovski said it doesn’t matter how his team scores as long as the Terps keep winning.
“It’s important to keep scoring from wherever,” Cirovski said. “When you have a chance to put it in, you’ve got to put it in.”
