The Terps buried four unanswered goals after going down 2-1.
Maryland men’s soccer captain Alex Nitzl had nearly completed five full seasons with the Terps. He had won conference championships, been a part of historically poor teams and played several positions. He had never scored a goal, though.
But it did not take five minutes of the team’s NCAA Tournament first-round contest against Long Island for that to change.
A blocked Colin Griffith shot bounced perfectly into Nitzl’s path, and he unleashed a strike with perfect technique that rippled the bottom left corner. He ran to his bench where the whole team mobbed him in celebration.
His goal ended up being one of five in Maryland’s dramatic victory over LIU, 5-2, at Ludwig Field Thursday night.
“I told the team, we couldn’t not come up with a victory when Alex Nitzl scored his first career goal,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said.
Nitzl’s goal gave a team, which had spent the last month reeling, a euphoric boost to start its postseason. The Terps built off Nitzl’s goal and controlled the tempo for most of the first half. They had a couple opportunities to double their lead.
First, Sadam Masereka found Griffith with space inside the box for a shot that Griffith sent over the bar. Later, a ball came to center back William Kulvik at the back post, but he was unable to turn it on target.
Maryland did not take advantage of either of these chances. And with just over two minutes left in the half, LIU made the Terps pay. The Sharks earned a free kick from well outside the box that was sent into a very dangerous area near the Terps’ back post.
After multiple deflections, the ball found NEC Rookie of the Year Stephane Njike, who smashed a half volley into the roof of Maryland’s net.
Momentum was suddenly with the Sharks, as the teams went to the locker room on level terms.
“The message from the sideline was we have a lot of time,” Cirovski said. “Keep working, keep believing.”
The Sharks capitalized again less than five minutes into the second half, when Njike picked the ball up on the wing and found a wide open Papa Sow at the back post for a tap-in.
After 40 minutes of domination, the Terps had a 2-1 hole to dig out of.
They searched for a way to do that. For 20 minutes, it seemed doubtful they could. But that changed when Sadam Masereka took on his man at lightning speed, forcing the defender to trip him just inside the box.
Then, for the seventh time this year, Leon Koehl, who was back in the lineup for the first time in nearly a month after suffering an injury, stepped up to the spot. And for the seventh time, he buried a penalty, this time in the bottom left corner.
With 25 minutes to go, the game was back on level terms, but it didn’t take long for that to change.
Two minutes later, Maryland won a corner that LIU cleared, but only as far as Masereka, who decided to fire a volley from outside of Maryland’s box. The strike was venomous, as the ball flew into the top of the net.
Masereka was directly involved in three Maryland goals.
“He’s a special kid, his speed you just can’t learn it,” Nitzl said. “I think he’s the fastest guy I’ve ever seen and it’s just a threat.”
Within three minutes, the Terps went from feeling like they were on the brink of elimination to securing a lead with 20 minutes remaining.
They weren’t done there either, as Luca Costabile and Max Rogers both added beautiful goals. Costabile’s came from a rocket from distance and Rogers’ was off a rabona flick right in front of the Sharks’ net.
The Terps dominated for the majority of the game and avenged their loss to LIU in the first round of the 2021 national tournament.
“It had to happen this way,” Nitzl said. “We’ve been going about this whole year saying it’s our revenge season. That game three years ago, it was brutal”
Three things to know
1. Screamers galore. Three of Maryland’s five goals were contenders for the team’s best of the year. For a team that struggled to find goals from open play at times this year, it scored some absolutely beautiful goals, highlighted by Masereka and Costabile’s efforts from distance.
2. Koehl’s impact was vital. In an absolutely pivotal moment of the match, Koehl — who was fully fit for the first time in a month — stepped up to the penalty spot. He buried it for the seventh time this season, preserving his 100% success rate on penalties this season. The only penalty the Terps took in his absence was missed. Beyond that, Koehl made his presence felt in the middle of the field all game long, making multiple connecting passes.
3. Wake Forest waiting. Maryland’s win means it heads to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Sunday for a matchup against No. 8-seed Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are hot off a run to the ACC Tournament championship game.
“We feel we know them quite well, we know they just won the ACC title and are one of the hottest teams in the country,” Cirovski said. “We’ll have to be rested, recovered and ready for a great challenge.”