Coach Sasho Cirovski raises the ACC championship trophy for the second year in a row as the Terps defeated Virginia, 1-0, to take home their second consecutive ACC championship on Nov. 17, 2013 at Maryland SoccerPlex.
The Terrapins men’s soccer team beat California, 2-1, on Saturday in the NCAA quarterfinals behind goals from midfielders Alex Shinsky and Michael Sauers, punching its ticket to the College Cup for the second straight season.
The No. 5-seed Terps struggled early in the contest, appearing indecisive and timid in their passing. However, they limited the Golden Bears’ possession and created a number of turnovers through the game’s first 15 minutes with relentless on-ball pressure.
Forward Schillo Tshuma had two open looks at goal in the ninth and 15th minutes, respectively, but goalkeeper Alex Mangels caught both shots.
Momentum shifted in the 19th minute, though, when Cal created their best chance of the first half. The Terps backline broke down on a Golden Bears counterattack, leaving forward Luis Fuentes in a one-on-one situation against goalkeeper Zack Steffen. Fuentes’s finesse shot beat Steffen, but the ball hit both posts before defender Mikey Ambrose cleared it.
The No. 4-seed Golden Bears produced another three shots and two corner kicks over the next seven minutes before coach Sasho Cirovski went to his bench, replacing Sauers with Shinsky in the 27th minute and midfielder Tsubasa Endoh with midfielder Sunny Jane in the 28th minute.
The substitutions paid off for the Terps. In the 33rd minute, Tshuma earned a free kick a couple feet outside the left side of the 18-yard box. Ambrose moved up from his position at left back to take it, curling a cross to the far post that Shinsky headed into the back of the net for his first goal of the season. The Terps carried their 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Golden Bears responded just less than five minutes into the second half, though. Forward Stefano Bonomo took a point-blank shot that Steffen saved, but the forward recollected the ball and slotted home the rebound to tie the game at one.
About ten minutes later, Bonomo almost gave the Golden Bears the lead when he received a long through-ball in behind the Terps backline. Bonomo carried toward the goal before cutting around Steffen and shooting, but defender Chris Odoi-Atsem was guarding the net and cleared the ball away.
The Golden Bears’ missed opportunities ended up proving costly. In the 86th minute, Sauers scored his second game-winning goal of the postseason, ripping from 25 yards after receiving a pass from midfielder Mikias Eticha.
The Terps held on over the final four minutes to secure the victory and advance to the College Cup, where they will take on No. 8-seed Virginia in a rematch of this year’s ACC tournament championship game.
