Maryland men’s soccer often faltered from the penalty spot last season.
Forwards Stefan Copetti and Luke van Heukelum saw their shots saved by the goalkeeper. Forward Max Riley blasted his attempt over the crossbar. Even Big Ten Freshman of the Year Kimani Stewart-Baynes couldn’t beat the goalie from 12 yards, placing his effort too far right of the goal frame.
The Terps squandered valuable points during the entire 2023 campaign because of missed spot-kicks that resulted in their worst finish in over 20 years.
But Maryland seems to have eradicated its failures from the spot this year. It’s all on the foot of midfielder Leon Koehl.
The sophomore has taken the two penalties awarded to the Terps this season, dispatching both into the net to help earn his side a win over Brown and a draw against Virginia.
“Last season in the fall, we obviously had not the best luck with penalties,” Koehl said. “I felt confident going to the spot and taking it, and I just did that. I scored, and I proved I could take penalties.”
Koehl’s composure from the penalty spot didn’t just start in College Park. His youth club, Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, called upon him to face the pressure of standing face-to-face with opposing goalkeepers. Koehl succeeded in those situations, recalling his last score for his former club was a penalty kick goal.
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Maryland’s newest penalty taker established himself as the go-to option during the spring season, scoring multiple times from 12 yards out. The team now trusts Koehl to step up and score a high-scoring opportunity after the Terps missed all four attempts a year ago.
Koehl’s confidence soared in a situation where many succumb to pressure.
It’s just the penalty taker, the goalie and the referee inside the box before the kick is taken. Feelings of doubt, from lengthy reviews by officials and voices from players on other teams, can creep into a shooter’s mind and throw them off their routine before the referee blows their whistle to begin play.
Koehl makes sure that doesn’t happen to him.
He grabs the ball and places it down on the spot when Maryland is given a penalty, taking a few steps back for his run-up all while shutting out the voices that surround him. His next step ensures he knows what move the shot-stopper is going to make.
“I look at the goalie, I look him in the eyes,” Koehl said. “I’m trying to read him, where he’s going. Don’t tell him where I’m going.”
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The midfielder sometimes has an idea of which way a goalie will dive, or if they will move early or late during a taker’s run-up. Koehl works alongside assistant coach Jake Pace to look at the opposing keeper’s tendencies — which way they dive and how early they leave their feet — and bases where he may place his kick on that.
But ultimately Koehl dictates where he places his penalty. He has an idea of where he wants to put his kick in his head before striking the ball. It’s up to him to put it there.
“It’s pretty spontaneous,” Koehl said. “It’s more of a gut feel.”
He placed one penalty to the goalie’s left-hand side against Virginia and the other to the right-hand side versus Brown.
The Terps’ success this year relies on Koehl remaining perfect from the spot, a repeated season full of misplaced spot kicks will result in another dismal record.
Koehl’s shown he possesses the ability to convert a pressure penalty when it matters.
“I’m proud of Leon, because last year we were 0-for-4 on penalties,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “Last spring he decided he wanted to take on that responsibility, and he’s made good on his stuff right now.”
