Maryland men’s soccer goalie Laurin Mack received a pass from center back Chris Steinleitner inside the Terps’ penalty area midway through the first half against Georgetown on Sunday. As the Hoyas’ forwards applied pressure on the freshman shot-stopper, Maryland defender William Kulvik raised his arm to signal an injury.
Mack shot the ball out of bounds, allowing his injured teammate time to get evaluated. The referee signaled for the clock to stop with Kulvik crouched down holding his ankle. The Maryland center back then stood back up after a few seconds on the ground and began flexing his left leg.
The Terps — expecting the Hoyas to do the “sporting” thing and pass the ensuing throw-in back to them, according to head coach Sasho Cirovski — pushed their forwards up the pitch as play resumed. But Georgetown opted not to give up possession deep in Maryland’s defensive half.
Mitchell Baker tapped in his second goal 10 seconds after the restart to double the Hoyas’ lead and help No. 16 Georgetown beat Maryland 2-0, earning their fourth-ever win at Ludwig Field.
[Maryland men’s soccer falls flat in home opener against Georgetown, 2-0]
“We played the ball out of bounds because Will [Kulvik] had an issue,” midfielder Alex Nitzl said. “We were expecting them to play the ball back. They didn’t. They score. It’s annoying and it’s frustrating.”
The quick lapse the Terps experienced Sunday on Georgetown’s throw-in isn’t the first time they committed a costly blunder through the first two games of their campaign.
Luke van Heukelum scored Maryland’s first goal of the season in the 85th minute on Thursday against UMBC. But the Retrievers scored the equalizer two minutes later to deny the Terps an opening-game victory. Cirovski called the mishap a “silly mistake.”
“We need to finish off the plays and [not] rely on things going well for us,” Nitzl said. “Because 95 percent of the time we’re doing a good job, but in those five percent, that’s when we concede.”
Maryland had some chances against the Hoyas, but couldn’t put one into the back of the net.
[Maryland men’s soccer draws 1-1 with UMBC in season opener]
Left back Luca Costabile sent a long-range effort toward the top corner that was palmed over the crossbar by Hoyas’ goalie Tenzing Manske, and midfielder Kenny Quist-Therson saw his shot from outside the box touched onto the bar by Manske.
Leon Koehl also had a shot blocked by a sliding Georgetown defender inside the box.
The Terps racked up eight corners and placed half of their six shots on goal during the opening 45 minutes. However they couldn’t get a shot past the Hoyas’ back line, and Baker’s second tally on a controversial play created an insurmountable deficit for Maryland.
Maryland’s next opportunity to earn its first win of the year is Friday against Detroit Mercy. Avoiding another momentary miscue is crucial for the Terps to not go winless in their first three contests.
“Going down a second goal in that manner is very deflating,” Cirovski said. “I thought we bounced back at halftime, and I thought we carried some good opportunities. But at the end of the day, we just didn’t put the ball in the back of the net. We got to make plays.”
