When forward Paul Bin recorded his second assist in Maryland men’s soccer’s 3-1 win last weekend against then-No. 18 Coastal Carolina, he tightly hugged forward Sebastian Elney, who had just put the game out of reach by finishing Bin’s pass.
Bin then jogged over and did the same to midfielder Amar Sejdic, who had played him a pass to led him past the Chanticleers’ backline.
While he was sure to show appreciation for the two teammates that helped him secure his fourth point in his last two appearances, the Terps say they saw Bin’s breakout coming since his performance in the spring. The results didn’t come immediately, but now the South Korea native is sparking Maryland’s offensive resurgence.
Bin will look to continue to power Maryland’s attack and help knock off another ranked opponent Friday night when No. 13 Michigan State visits College Park.
“His energy is inspiring to our whole team,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “He presses when we’re defending and he attacks relentlessly when we have the ball. He’s been a really positive influence for us.”
[Read more: Dayne St. Clair helped Maryland soccer regroup after Coastal Carolina’s instant equalizer]
But Bin rarely saw the field in his first three years at Maryland. He played in only 11 games off the bench in his freshman season, missed the entire 2016 campaign and played just 86 minutes last year.
That has changed completely in his junior campaign. The forward has started in seven of the team’s nine games, and came off the bench in one of the other two. He’s tied for the second-most shots on the team.
[Read more: Maryland men’s soccer earns best win of the year, 3-1, over No. 18 Coastal Carolina]
Bin’s speed on the left wing gives Terps pace on counter-attacks, and while he didn’t find the statsheet until the team’s seventh game — where he scored his first career goal — his ascent began well before then.
“It started in the spring,” goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair said. “He rose to the occasion when some guys left. Maybe he didn’t have the results at the beginning of the season, but we always knew it was something he was capable of.”
Maryland’s top three attackers — forward Gordon Wild and midfielders Jake Rozhansky and Eryk Williamson — graduated or turned pro after last season. Those departures gave players like Bin an opportunity to step up.
He capitalized on the chance in Maryland’s three exhibition games played during its spring break trip to England. Bin scored a team-high four goals, and the Terps won every contest on the international slate.
His success from the spring is beginning to translate to meaningful game action for the Terps, but he deflects any credit.
“It’s definitely my teammates just helping me with confidence, boosting me with confidence and having faith in me,” Bin said. “I was able to repay them with a goal and two assists.”
Bin is right about the goal he scored. Once he got open in the box, it hardly took Bin much effort: midfielder William James Herve passed to him, and he simply had to tap the ball into the back of the net.
It was Bin, however, who was responsible for the final pass before Herve and Elney each scored on Sunday. He made a pair of effective runs to slip past Coastal Carolina’s defense, and after receiving the ball, set up a pair of one-timers like the one he scored.
His recent productivity has given life to Maryland’s offense, which languished earlier this season. The three goals against the Chanticleers were a season-high for the Terps, and their most in a game since their 5-4 win over Wisconsin on Oct. 13, 2017.
Maryland’s backline has looked strong throughout this year. Once Bin and the offense got clicking, it’s turned into results, with the Terps having won four of their last five games.
“We’re starting to feel a greater sense of confidence. It’s coming together,” Cirovski said. “We’re running into a great Michigan State team that’s very disciplined and very hard to break down. This will be a good challenge for us and we’ll see how far we’ve grown.”
