Each time the Maryland men’s soccer team gave up a goal in its match against Penn State on Sunday, it responded with a sense of urgency.
Thirteen minutes after giving up a goal to Penn State forward Dayonn Harris, the Terps picked up the tempo before scoring on a penalty kick. While Harris scored again less than 10 minutes after that, Maryland kept attacking the Nittany Lions and knocked in another penalty kick to tie the game at two.
The Terps went into their third consecutive overtime, but this time, they didn’t waste time putting pressure on the Nittany Lions. Forward Gordon Wild scored his conference-leading eighth goal of the season off a pass from forward DJ Reeves to win the contest.
“I’m extremely happy and relieved to come out with a victory,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “When we tied it and went into overtime, I told the team to forget the last 90 minutes and we just have to make one more play than they do. This team has a lot of character. We have shown tremendous resilience and tremendous quality in situations that have demanded it.”
The Terps (5-0-2, 2-0-1 Big Ten) returned to Ludwig Field on Sunday after a two-game road trip in which they tied Indiana and beat Rutgers. Maryland outshot the Scarlet Knights on Tuesday, 22-2, but struggled to finish its opportunities. Midfielder Jake Rozhansky scored the game-winner in the 104th minute as the Terps avoided an upset.
Maryland again controlled possession Sunday, and it outshot the Nittany Lions, 14-2. But both teams pressed each other high up the field, resulting in neither team getting a lot of opportunities in the first half.
It wasn’t until after intermission that Penn State (3-3-1, 1-1) opened the scoring.
In the 57th minute, Harris ran past the Terps’ backline and received a cross. He sprinted to the goal box, and as goalkeeper Cody Niedermeier came out of goal, Harris struck the ball into the bottom left-corner of the net.
Maryland attempted three shots after the score, and those opportunities led to it tying the match in the 70th minute. Penn State midfielder Cameron Steele fouled Reeves in the box, and midfielder Amar Sejdic nailed the penalty kick for his second goal of the season.
Maryland has given up at least one goal in five games this season, and each time its rallied to score its own goal. The players group together on the field every time the foe finds the back of the net. The Terps’ leaders, including Niedermeier, Crognale and midfielder Cody Albrecht, give their teammates positive encouragement.
“We can’t give up a goal and we always have to fight back,” Wild said. “That’s something we still have to figure out and improve on. That happened too many times now. We’re lucky that we came back.”
Another defensive miscue off a counter-attack allowed Penn State to retake the lead in the 80th minute. Nittany Lions midfielder Pierre Reedy crossed the ball through defenders Alex Crognale and Donovan Pines to Harris, who made a dribble move against Niedermeier before scoring.
About four-and a-half minutes later, Penn State defender Mitchel Bringolf fouled Reeves in the box. This time, Wild scored his third penalty kick of the season.
“In the first half we started really slow,” Sejdic said. “We were playing poorly. In the second half it started to cool down and we got a little more energy. We weren’t going to lose at Ludwig and have that kind of embarrassment to ourselves.”
The same switch he made at halftime against Indiana on Sept. 9, Cirovski used three forwards instead of the usual two in overtime. Five minutes in, Reeves made a dribble move to get into the box and crossed to Wild. The South Carolina State transfer netted his second game-winner of the year, prompting him and Reeves to throw their arms into the air in celebration.
“We found a way to win,” Cirovski said. “Great teams find ways to win.”
