Ahead of Maryland men’s soccer’s fifth attempt in Sunday’s penalty shootout, all eyes turned to the halfway line. Everyone at Ludwig Field waited to see which Terp would emerge from the 10-player group standing at midfield.
But no one moved.
Instead, Maryland goalkeeper Laurin Mack picked up his water bottle, grabbed the ball and walked to the spot. The German sophomore, who had never taken a penalty shot in a match, held the weight of the Terps’ season at his feet.
With his goalkeeping gloves still on, Mack blasted a right-footed shot into the left side netting. North Carolina goalie Andrew Cordes didn’t have time to react.
Mack pointed toward the bench and wheeled away in celebration as his teammates rushed to greet him. After saving a pair of kicks earlier in the penalty shootout, Mack booked Maryland its place in the NCAA tournament third round with a game-winner over UNC.
“[That’s] one of the best performances I’ve seen [in a] PK shootout, probably since 2005, when Chris Seitz saved two PKs,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “But Laurin topped him because he also scored the game-winner.”
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Mack had relatively tame responsibilities during the 110 minutes leading up to the shootout, but produced a sprawling save in the 87th minute to deny the Tar Heels of what could’ve been a game-winner.
The No. 4-seed Terps hadn’t won an NCAA tournament shootout since 2007 — losing their previous three. Sunday’s spot-kick showdown started in familiarly-inauspicious fashion.
After picking up an assist on Maryland’s only regulation goal — a Rocket Ritarita strike just before halftime — Sadam Masereka stepped to the spot for the Terps’ first kick. The senior was following North Carolina’s Andrew Czech, who’d just scored past Mack.
Masereka aimed high on his effort, but blazed it a few inches above the goal.
With the Terps trailing, a stop was a requirement at that point. Mack delivered two.
The sophomore dove to right, making a one-handed save that denied Javier Hernandez’s rolled strike. Mack dove the opposite direction on the next attempt, pushing Nacho Abeal’s effort wide of the post.
“It’s a mind game — PK’s in general,” Mack said. “You have to … be the boss in your mindset, but then you can also influence the other striker’s mindset with whatever you’re saying.”
Midfielder Leon Koehl scored in between Mack’s saves. Joseph Umberto Picotto — who hadn’t taken a penalty since his sophomore season at Salt Lake Community College — scored his attempt. Senior Lasse Kelp then converted Maryland’s fourth penalty, despite never attempting one in his college career.
That all set the stage for Mack, who simply had to replicate what he had done in recent training sessions. Mack said his penalty scores in practice gave him confidence as he stepped forward.
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“It’s very natural for him, and he wanted the responsibility,” Cirovski said. “Lau[rin] is one of the best strikers of the ball on the whole team.”
That comfort Cirovski referenced stems from Mack’s time as a forward while playing youth ball in Emmendingen, Germany. Mack was recruited to SC Freiburg — his last stop before Maryland — as a goalkeeper. But he played the “sweeper-keeper” role with Freiburg, which calls for keepers to leave their net and play passes as if they’re an additional outfield player.
That training helped Mack develop as a keeper while refining the skills he attained prior to his time at Freiburg.
Mack’s versatility has been a cornerstone of Maryland’s system over the past two seasons. He sometimes drifts near midfield to play passes alongside Terps defenders, and also creates attacking chances with long goal kicks.
Ordinary moments like those are call backs to Mack’s past. Sunday’s decisive penalty was his full-circle moment.
