Terps vs Spartans Ends in Scoreless Draw
Friday night the number three ranked Maryland men’s soccer team went into hostile territory in East Lansing, Michigan to take on the number six ranked Michigan State Spartans. If you were to look at the stats alone you would think that Maryland absolutely dominated. But you would be sincerely mislead. The Terps won the possession battle by a wide margin but the net was just not wide enough.
Maryland had a great opportunity to grab an early lead in the sixth minute, but after capturing a pass form Junior Chase Gasper, fellow Junior Eryk Williamson could not add on the finishing touches. Just after that missed opportunity, another one arose.
In the seventeenth minute Amar Sejdic sent a pass inside the eighteen to Junior Gordon Wild but again, the Terps could not finish off the play. Maryland had a third chance to score when Senior Jake Rozhansky sent a back-heel pass to Williamson but Williamson sent the shot wide left.
In the sixtieth minute Wild was given the Terp’s best chance to score. Williamson sent a risky cross that was sent away by Michigan States goalkeeper Jimmy Hague right into the path of Wild who sent a header from the six, but Hague made a beautiful save with his right hand. Again Wild saw himself with an opportunity in the eighty-first minute but sent it off the outside post.
The match carried over into double overtime where Williamson had the best opportunity of the two overtime periods only to receive the same result as Hague knocked the shot away. Neither team could capitalize on their few opportunities as the match concluded at a zero all draw.
Maryland played great defense, limiting the Spartans to only nine shots and six shots on goal. Six Terps players lasted the entire one-hundred and ten minute match. Andrew Samuels, Donovan Pines, Jake Rozhansky, Chase Gasper, and Dayne St. Clair all played the entire match.
The Terps have now gone a tremendous twenty-six games without suffering a loss (22-0-4). Maryland will be taking on in-state opponent, the UMBC Retrievers Tuesday night.
Also it was announced Friday night, Senior midfielder Jake Rozhansky was nominated for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award.
