George Campbell pushes the ball up field as Maryland beats Penn State 4-0 on October 12, 2014 at Ludwig Field in College Park, MD
As Terrapins men’s soccer defender Jereme Raley spoke with reporters after the Terps’ 3-1 win over Santa Clara on Saturday, George Campbell was engaged in an impromptu photo shoot.
A group of children approached Campbell, begging to snap some pictures with the forward who had just scored the first goal of his career. Campbell posed with the kids as a friend held the camera. Another kid took a selfie with Campbell.
Campbell appreciated the support, citing the Terps’ large fan base as one of the primary reasons he came to College Park. And on Saturday, he relished the time in the spotlight after his 58th-minute strike broke a scoreless draw and helped propel the Terps to a fifth-straight victory.
“[The goal] was definitely relieving. Definitely a good feeling.” Campbell said. “Definitely takes a little stress off it. I had been harping on getting for so long. I finally did. Hopefully I can ease up a little bit and not feel so tense when I’m playing.”
In mid-September, Campbell was frustrated that he hadn’t scored his first college goal. While battling an ankle injury, he said the drought had affected him mentally.
As soon as his right-footed shot hit the back of the net Saturday, though, Campbell said he felt relieved. Plus, it helped spark the Terps offense, which had been dormant in the first half against Santa Clara.
“The first half, things weren’t going our way. Second half, we got in there, and luckily I got one,” Campbell said. “The team kind of relaxed. We settled down and it just made the game easier for us.”
Campbell’s goal came from a spot on the field he’d tried to score from numerous times this year. After goalkeeper Zack Steffen sent a long cross downfield, defender Mikey Ambrose gathered the ball around midfield and dribbled into the scoring third before chipping the ball to Campbell about 30 yards from goal.
Campbell collected the ball with his back to the net and turned around and dribbled. He lifted his right leg and blasted the ball just inside the left post past diving Santa Clara goalkeeper Carl Carrwik.
“I didn’t hit the defender this time,” Campbell said. “He was tracking back, and he took a step to his left, and I just saw an opening and hit it. [I] went near post instead of far post like I’ve usually been doing.”
That wasn’t the last time Campbell had a significant scoring chance, though. About 20 minutes later, midfielder Tsubasa Endoh quickly sent a long ball across the field to Campbell, who was streaking toward goal. The defender headed the ball away, but Campbell stole the ball from another defender and began driving toward goal.
He juked to his right, nearly hitting the ground as he moved past the falling defender. He then dribbled more to his right, trying to elude another defender, who pushed him to the ground. The infraction earned the Terps a free kick, which midfielder Mael Corboz buried to give the Terps a 3-0 advantage.
“[Campbell] did a great job to keep the play alive with his pressure,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “He won the ball, then he made a strong penetrating run [that] caused a foul and it leads to a goal. That’s the kind of aggressiveness that we maybe didn’t have as much in the first half.”
After Campbell and his fellow forwards failed to provide consistent scoring early in the year, Cirovski has used midfielders Alex Shinsky, Mikias Eticha and Michael Sauers up top recently. Campbell hopes to continue his production and add another scoring threat to Cirovski’s repertoire.
“[Campbell’s] had a couple injuries,” said Raley, who added a goal in the 72 minute. “It’s good to see him on the score sheet.”
Campbell had little trouble scoring in high school, so he was happy to bask in the thrill of his first college goal and take a few pictures with fans.
“It’s pretty much one of the reasons why I decided to come here,” Campbell said. “We have the Crew obviously, then all of these kids coming to the games, loving it, supporting us, yelling, screaming ‘Let’s go Maryland’ during the game. So it’s cool. It’s definitely a great feeling knowing that we get so much support from everybody.”
