Every practice, Maryland men’s soccer coach Sasho Cirovski preaches for his reserves to be ready for an opportunity to play. When defenders Miles Stray and Donovan Pines had that chance Monday against West Virginia, the freshmen took advantage.
Cirovski made a game-time decision to scratch defender Alex Crognale with a minor injury, so Stray, who had played 42 minutes entering the game, started in his place. Pines replaced Stray to close out the match.
Stray and Pines helped the Terps record their fifth consecutive shutout with a 1-0 victory despite Maryland giving up 15 shots, including eight on goal. Cirovski is confident any reserve can perform well when No. 1 Maryland (10-0-2, 5-0-1 Big Ten) hosts Wisconsin (7-2-2, 3-1-1) at Ludwig Field on Friday night.
“They’re high-quality players, but when you’re playing behind one of the best center backs in the country, you have to be ready for your opportunity,” Cirovski said. “We’ve had many examples over the years of very talented players getting an opportunity in really big key games. We talk about it in preseason, and we continually talk about it.”
Through Maryland’s first seven matches, it featured the same starting defensive line of Chris Odoi-Atsem, Suli Dainkeh, Diego Silva and Crognale. But when Silva suffered a nagging injury after the Terps’ contest against Penn State on Sept. 18, Cirovski turned to defender Andrew Samuels.
Though Samuels, who’s right-footed, played left back, he’s filled in to start the team’s past five shutouts.
That formation remained until Monday when Crognale, a captain who had played the most minutes entering the contest (1,010), sat out. Stray’s 42 prior minutes came late in games when Maryland had a lead.
The difference between Stray and Crognale’s play stood out from the start. Stray got beat one-on-one on a few occasions and took time to settle in. But he made one of the biggest plays of the match in the 12th minute.
Mountaineers midfielder Jad Arslan spun around Odoi-Atsem and struck a ball toward the bottom right corner of the goal. Stray sprinted to the ball and cleared it before it crossed the goal line.
Midfielder Amar Sejdic scored in the 26th minute, and Stray remained poised the remainder of the contest, limiting West Virginia to shots outside the box. Pines then entered in the 74th minute and helped Maryland clinch its seventh consecutive victory.
“We have guys who are ready-made on the bench,” forward DJ Reeves said. “It’s a great asset to have. Donovan and Miles did a fantastic job. Not only that, but the rest of the players filling in for [Crognale], they did a fantastic job taking up that role and lifting the team in a very tough game.”
Cirovski rotates many players into matches to keep his starters fresh for the postseason. While the Terps’ freshmen were highly touted recruits, they don’t receive much playing time because Maryland returned eight starters this season.
But when Cirovski has called on his reserves, they haven’t failed him.
“We can bring in two different center backs and have them both perform at a high level,” Sejdic said. “It definitely kind of shows the depth we have on the bench. It says a lot about our program, the trust we have for one another and how connected we are as a team on and off the field.”
