The Terps pose with the Men’s Soccer ACC championship trophy.
GERMANTOWN – Behind two goals from freshmen against the nation’s stingiest defense, the No. 1-seed Terrapins men’s soccer team captured its third ACC Tournament championship in five years, 2-1, over No. 2-seed North Carolina in front of 9,341 at the Maryland SoccerPlex this afternoon.
Defender Dakota Edwards scored off a corner by midfielder Dan Metzger in the 11th minute to put the Terps on top, 1-0. It was the first goal allowed by Tar Heels goalkeeper Scott Goodwin since Terps forward Schillo Tshuma scored the overtime game-winner Oct. 19 at Ludwig Field, a span of 481 minutes.
The No. 2 Terps pushed their lead to 2-0 in the 62nd minute. Tshuma took a throw-in from defender Mikey Ambrose and tried to cross the ball across the box. His pass, however, deflected off a Tar Heels defender and bounced past Goodwin.
No. 3 North Carolina wouldn’t disappear, though. Forward Rob Lovejoy netted a goal in the 86th minute over Terps goalkeeper Keith Cardona to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Terps, however, held strong the rest of the way for the victory.
Today’s game marked the first time all season North Carolina allowed two goals in a game, and today’s tallies were the fifth and sixth goals allowed all year.
Forward Patrick Mullins was named tournament MVP, while midfielder John Stertzer, defender London Woodberry, Edwards and Tshuma were all named to the all-tournament team.
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