Maryland men’s soccer midfielder Eryk Williamson entered Friday averaging 83.5 minutes per game, having played fewer than 60 minutes in just one of the team’s 14 games.
That time on the field caught up to him, coach Sasho Cirovski said. Williamson came off in the 38th minute of Maryland’s 1-0 loss to Coastal Carolina on Friday and never returned.
“He just is exhausted, and I didn’t want to risk injury in the second half,” Cirovski said. “He was on no gas.”
[Read more: Maryland men’s soccer loses its second straight game, 1-0, to Coastal Carolina]
As one of the team’s attacking midfielders, Williamson uses his creativity to generate scoring chances. Without him, Maryland managed just four shots in the second half despite trailing the whole period.
Cirovski said an intense schedule hurt every member of the team and was one of the principal reasons for its disappointing play against the Chanticleers.
But it wasn’t fatigue that kept forward Gordon Wild from starting Friday.
After failing to find the net in 63 minutes as a substitute against Coastal Carolina, Wild saw his career-worst scoreless streak extended to nine games.
Wild came off the bench for the first time in his Maryland career to “relieve some pressure,” Cirovski said.
“I’ve done that over the years, where I’ve taken a striker and just kind of let them come into the game when it’s a little less frantic,” Cirovski said. “That was just a psychological move to put him in a better place.”
Cirovski predicted earlier in the week that Wild would score soon. Though the Cologne, Germany, native couldn’t break out of his slump against the Chanticleers — taking three off-target shots — Cirovski was pleased with his performance.
“He had a terrific game when he did come in,” Cirovski said.
