The Maryland men’s soccer team entered its game at Wisconsin on Friday allowing just over half-a-goal per game.
Then, with the Terps on the verge of a comfortable victory, the Badgers scored a pair of goals in the final three minutes to cut Maryland’s lead to 5-4. The Badgers are the first team this season to score more than twice against Maryland.
When the No. 3 Terps return to the field Tuesday against No. 9 Georgetown, its defense will look much different than the one that earned shutouts in six of their first eight games, including matching a school record with five consecutive shutouts earlier this year.
Starting defenders Chase Gasper and George Campbell will miss the Georgetown game, but the team is confident replacements Miles Stray and Ben Di Rosa can keep the Hoyas offense at bay.
“Certain times of the year, depth will get tested a little bit more,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “Guys are ready to step in, and we’ll figure it out.”
[Read more: Maryland soccer’s Amar Sejdic and Eryk Williamson combined for five goals vs. Wisconsin]
Campbell is unavailable due to receiving a red card against the Badgers and should return for Maryland’s match against Coastal Carolina on Friday, but Gasper’s absence is more concerning.
While he was at UCLA, left groin injuries cost Gasper the end of his sophomore year and all but three games of 2016.
After transferring to Maryland this summer, Gasper was one of four new starters in the Terp backline and rarely left the field, becoming a crucial piece of a defense that’s been solid all year as the Terps offense has suffered periods of inconsistency.
The Alexandria, Virginia, native, who Cirovski said is one of the best leftbacks in the country, entered the Wisconsin game tied for the most minutes on the team.
But in the 23rd minute, Gasper strained his left groin again. He limped off the field and was later seen massaging his leg on the sideline, staring blankly at the ground in front of him.
Cirovski doesn’t know how long Gasper will be sidelined, but he said the injury isn’t as serious as his previous setbacks.
With Gasper out, starting centerback Johannes Bergmann slides to leftback and Stray joins Donovan Pines at centerback. Di Rosa takes Campbell’s place to their right.
“We have really good defenders, even on the bench,” Pines said. “They’ll step up to the task and do very well.”
Stray and Di Rosa were on the field for the final minutes of the Terps’ nerve-wracking 5-4 win over the Badgers, but the team isn’t expecting its defense to repeat that near-disastrous performance going forward.
“The [rainy] conditions at Wisconsin were such that before the game, you said, ‘There’s going to be multiple goals in this game,'” Cirovski said. “We found a way to finish it off, but it became interesting.”
Plus, both Stray and Di Rosa have started games this season, boosting the team’s confidence with them on the field.
When players like Stray and Di Rosa were on the field early in the year, Cirovski noted the experience they gained could be crucial down the stretch.
Tuesday, with the Terps missing two starting defenders against a top-10 team and coming off their worst defensive game of the year, they have the chance to prove Cirovski right.
“Full confidence in them and myself and just our relationship with each other,” Pines said. “We’ll do really well together.”