With just over 20 minutes left in No. 14 Maryland men’s soccer’s season opener against Missouri State, the Terps were down and in desperate need of a goal.
They got a chance when defender William Kulvik lifted a ball down the left sideline, putting the Terps’ attack in behind the Bears back line. The chance brought on a corner, something Maryland struggled with throughout the game.
Similarly to previous set pieces throughout the game, Maryland couldn’t convert on its chance — another in a slew of missed opportunities Thursday that plagued the Terps in a 1-0 loss at Ludwig Field.
Maryland didn’t score on any of its seven corners and mustered just two shots in the dreary opener.
“We played a very good Missouri State team that has a lot of experience and a lot of quality,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “… We knew it would be difficult to score.”
The Bears started out on the front foot, with their first opportunity coming seven minutes in.
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After a Kimani Stewart-Baynes giveaway in Missouri State’s attacking third, two Bears attackers exchanged a pair of quick passes that opened up Maryland’s back line and created space for Missouri State to attack with a blazing attempt that sailed over the bar.
The Terps countered with an attack of their own. A long pass from right to left created a chance that led to their first corner of the game, but Stewart-Baynes’ cross whistled past everyone in the box.
Just over thirty minutes into a scoreless match, Missouri State found a breakthrough.
The Bears accelerated through the Maryland midfield, taking the ball to the endline before lifting in a cross. Kento Abe knocked the ball out for a corner, one Missouri State capitalized on.
A bouncing ball from the corner in the box found its way to Jack Denton, who tapped home the goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
“Unfortunately, we gave up the one goal on a set piece,” Cirovski said. “… I thought we corrected it, but similar mistakes showed up that we saw in preseason so this is something that we will correct. Those are fixable.”
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Maryland got its second corner of the first half after Missouri State’s wall of defenders deflected a Max Riley free kick out with five minutes remaining in the half. But just like at the beginning of the game, the Terps couldn’t score and entered the break down a goal.
Missouri State nearly increased that deficit. Maryland defender William Kulvik cleared the Bears’ opening shot of the second half off the line.
Minutes later, Jamie Lowell found himself one-on-one with Bears defender Javier Gil Martin, who fired a shot. Lowell stuck out a big hand to his right — his fingertips stretching just far enough to deny him a score.
“I feel like we have a lot of experienced guys on the backline, including myself,” Abe said. “There’s a lot of stuff that we can bring to the team.”
But the Terps found themselves needing a goal.
As the minutes dwindled, Maryland was in search of one last effort to find a way past Bears’ goalkeeper Harry Townsend. But there was no way past Missouri State’s back line as a young Terps team integrating many new faces couldn’t find its way on the scoresheet.
“I think it’s just a little bit of the nerves. It’s the first game of the regular season,” Stefan Copetti said. “… But we’re not worried at all. First game, a lot to learn from.”
