DURHAM, N.C. — When the ball fell to Duke midfielder Daniele Proch in the 52nd minute, the Blue Devils’ leading scorer fired one of his game-high seven shots Saturday night from point-blank range. But a three-player blockade situated on Maryland men’s soccer’s goal line wouldn’t let it through.
The shot appeared to beat goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and defender Johannes Bergmann, who braced himself for an impact that never came.
Instead, Duke midfielder Kristófer Garðarsson, also standing in the mouth of the goal, inadvertently preserved Maryland’s one-score lead in the third round of the NCAA tournament. And eight minutes later, the No. 11-seeded Terps scored the dagger that secured an upset win over the No. 6-seeded Blue Devils and their trip to the quarterfinals.
Maryland’s attack has scored in nine consecutive games, but its postseason run has depended more on its seemingly impenetrable defense — which was aided during a critical juncture against Duke — to become one of eight teams still vying for the national title.
“If you look at teams that win championships, teams that go far, they are among the best teams in the nation defensively,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “It’s something we haven’t been the last couple of years.”
[Read more: Maryland men’s soccer upsets Duke, 2-0, to advance to NCAA tournament quarterfinals]
Until this season, clinical scoring was a perennial staple of Maryland men’s soccer. That’s all changed with a new identity rooted in team defense that’s leading the postseason surge.
When Maryland midfielder William James Herve converted a scissor kick in the 24th minute to put the Terps up 1-0, the goal inched the team ahead of the lowest-scoring season under Cirovski, set in his first year at the helm with only 22 goals in 1993. That mark hadn’t yet been broken entering the tournament last weekend against NC State.
That 1993 squad finished 3-14-1, one of two Terps teams coached by Cirovski that didn’t make the tournament. Despite entering Saturday’s showdown with Duke only two ahead of the 1993 team in goal tally, Maryland’s second straight multi-goal performance spurred it onto the Elite Eight behind a defense that’s now conceded 0.80 goals per game.
“Right now, we’re a team that can obviously score goals and has very good attacking players,” Cirovski said. “But we’re very committed on the defensive side of the ball. That’s the difference.”
[Read more: Donovan Pines and Maryland soccer’s defense powered the team to the 3rd round]
While important, Garðarsson’s inadvertent deflection didn’t produce Maryland’s 10th clean sheet of the season on its own. It was a culmination of a top-notch goalkeeper, a sturdy back line and attackers buying into the defensive efforts.
Two of Maryland’s four goals in the tournament are results of attackers playing defense on their opponents’ side of the field. When Maryland earned a 1-0 lead in the second round against NC State, forward Paul Bin lost the ball but immediately tried to reclaim possession, forcing a backward pass that led to midfielder Amar Sejdic’s easy goal.
On Saturday, rather than retreating when Duke played the ball back to its goalkeeper, Sejdic pressured. When midfielder Jack Doran slipped up and left the ball in the middle of the field, Sejdic took over and finished his second goal of the tournament.
While Maryland’s back line has been a focal point of the team throughout the season, having offensive players willing to defend has helped stimulate half the offense through two games.
“The defense starts up top,” defender Chase Gasper said. “We’ve been working on that a lot this week, pressing their back line, and it paid off. It makes it easier for us in the back.”
That insurance goal came after intense pressure out of halftime from the Blue Devils. Cirovski admitted his team got away with a few minor lapses, so after 10 minutes, he relied on his defense when he switched to a five-defender formation to settle down.
Sejdic’s goal was a relief after dropping players back, but with Maryland leading by a pair of goals, Duke unleashed its attack. The Blue Devils shot eight times in the final 30 minutes, the same number the Terps had the entire game.
St. Clair made six saves in the second half, fending off shot after shot to compile a season-high eight saves. For the second straight game, Maryland’s four starting defenders stayed on the field from the opening whistle to the last.
Even though solid team defending has helped Maryland earn its first trip to the quarterfinals since 2015, its offense knows the luxury it has — one they’ll continue to depend on to potentially advance to the College Cup.
“I’m so happy to have Dayne in the goal, so happy to have our defense,” Herve said, “if they’re not there, we wouldn’t be here, so very grateful for having those guys behind us.”
