As frustrating as injuries can be, one player’s absence opens up someone else’s opportunity. For Rocket Ritarita, a freshman who’s shown flashes of brilliance this season, his opportunity arrived in the biggest game of Maryland men’s soccer season.
No. 4 Maryland midfielder Joseph Umberto Picotto was dribbling forward in the 25th minute when he pulled up slightly, passed the ball to a teammate, and slumped to the Ludwig Field grass. Favoring his left leg, Umberto Picotto was helped to the bench as Ritarita took the pitch in his place.
The freshman forward slotted in at striker, pushing Albi Ndrenika back into Umberto Picotto’s attacking midfield role. Less than 90 seconds after Ritarita’s substitution, the pair connected for the Terps’ opening score against No. 13 UConn in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
Then, Ritarita displayed the immense offensive talent that landed him on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. He dribbled past two defenders and blasted a shot past Huskies goalkeeper Kyle Durham from the edge of the 18-yard box. That unassisted score gave Maryland a two-goal lead before halftime, the decisive moments in a 3-0 win over the Huskies.
“He hasn’t started a lot of games,” coach Sasho Cirovski said of Ritarita. “But that doesn’t diminish the value he brings to our team every day.”
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Early in the season, it appeared as if Ritarita would be one of the Terps’ top offensive weapons. He quickly rose to prominence on a veteran-heavy squad by scoring twice and assisting four times in Maryland’s first three matches of September. Without a dominant goal-scoring presence at striker, Cirovski inserted Ritarita as the starter at that position for the Terps’ next three contests.
Progression wasn’t linear for Ritarita, though. The freshman failed to tally a goal or assist during that time, falling back to the bench by the beginning of October. His goal drought persisted through the Big Ten tournament, grabbing just one assist down the stretch as well.
“As a freshman, I had no expectations on minutes,” Ritarita said. “My role is just to make as much of an impact as possible.”
While Ritarita wasn’t posting tangible stats, coming off the bench afforded him enough energy to influence games by relentlessly pressing opposition forwards. Cirovski took notice.
“Every time he’s come on this year, he’s made a difference – every time,” he said.
The freshman was rewarded in the NCAA tournament, scoring a crucial goal in Maryland’s second-round victory over North Carolina. He said that moment bolstered his confidence heading into Saturday’s match.
It was evident.
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He took a shot on target just a couple of seconds after taking his first touch. That effort deflected off of Durham’s palms and directly to Ndrenika, who was making a run at goal from his natural attacking midfield position.
“The rotation in the front guys, it’s just so fluid,” Ndrenika said. “Anyone can hop into any spot and succeed, just because of how good we are.”
The senior finished with a career-high six shots, three of which were on target. His performance was a microcosm of the Terps’ offensive dominance, as they outshot UConn 23-5.
The Huskies only had two clear-cut scoring opportunities — both within a 40-second span early in the second half — but Terps goalkeeper Laurin Mack made diving saves to deny each attempt.
The clean sheet also preserved Maryland’s historically impressive home defensive record against the Huskies, who never scored in their four trips to College Park.
Maryland also had the benefit of playing with a man-advantage to close out the match after Austin Brummett, UConn’s leading scorer, was given a second yellow card following a rash challenge in the 64th minute. Huskies head coach Chris Gbandi — who was constantly at odds with the referees during the second half — was also shown a red card a few minutes before full time.
Junior Luke van Heukelum stamped the blowout victory in the 88th minute, scoring his first goal since early September.
One week removed from a physically and emotionally draining penalty shootout win, the Terps booked their spot in the NCAA quarterfinals with their most comfortable victory in nearly a month and half.
