RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Leon Koehl | Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics
The last time Maryland men’s soccer stepped foot on Ludwig Field was to take on the Washington Huskies in the quarterfinals of the College Cup. The Terps left in disbelief after suffering a shocking 3-1 defeat on their home turf that abruptly ended their season.
Maryland men’s soccer looked to flush the bad taste out of their mouth in their home opener against the New Haven Chargers Monday, and it did so in a wild 3-2 victory.
Following a steady 45 minutes of play from the Chargers, the Terps found themselves down one after a turbulent first half. In the second half, both teams came out firing on all cylinders by scoring a combined four goals in the span of six minutes.
Henry Bernstein scored the Terps’ first goal in the 51st minute off a wild deflection that bounced off the Chargers’ Felipe Lemos and into the net, tying the game at one. Less than two minutes later, Dominic Ayella scored his first goal for Maryland off a perfect cross from Dennis Kalanzi.
The freshman duo gave the Terps their first lead of the game, but it was short-lived, as the Chargers drew a corner and scored in the 56th minute. Lorenzo Garbarino soared into the box and placed a well located header on a spinning ball that found the back of the net.
The Terps answered quickly, as Leon Koehl recaptured the lead in the 57th minute with his right foot with the help of Rocket Ritarita.
Early in the first half, Ali Taleb broke the ice for New Haven with his first goal of the season. In the fourth minute, the Chargers booted a ball down to the Terps’ defensive end. Taleb put the ball in the back of the Terps net after beating Mack to it at the top of the box before the goalkeeper could make a play.
For the second game in a row, the Terps had a crucial defensive lapse combine with an unlucky bounce to result in an unconventional goal for the opponent.
In the ninth minute, Maryland defender Jace Clark went down with an injury after getting his feet tangled with Taleb. His absence in the backline was felt as the Terps’ forwards and midfielders were forced to focus more on defending, stunting their offensive freedom. The injury bug struck the Terps again in the 26th minute as Said El Eyssami went down after a physical play in the box.
Despite the adversity, the Terps outshot the Chargers by eight, and they drew six more corners in the first half, a stark difference from their season opener against Pitt. The Terps’ dominance on the stat sheet continued throughout the game as they finished with 29 shots to the Chargers’ five.
The defense was much stronger in the second half for Maryland, as New Haven was no longer able to penetrate the Terps’ defense. As the match wore on, the Chargers fatigue began to show, allowing the Terps to close out the game comfortably and getting their second victory of the young season.
Three things to know
1. Stat sheet dominance. In the season opener Maryland conceded more shots and corners, committed more fouls and lacked possession against Pitt. The Terps completely turned the tide against the Chargers, outshooting them 29-5 and drawing six more fouls and nine more corner kicks. The Terps dominated possession all night long, and it resulted in the victory.
2. Koehl, calm, and collected. Senior midfielder Loen Koehl scored what would end up being the game-winning goal for the Terps with a powerful shot to the right side of the keeper. Koehl also contributed an assist on the Ayella goal, giving him two points in the game and 29 points overall in his four years with the Terps.
3. Fresh faces. Two Terps cracked the starting lineup for the first time this season for Cirovski. Rocket Ritarita started in place of Ayella and the Tyler Junior College transfer Ljubomir Popovic replaced the injured Lilian Fichelle. Popovic played an important role in anchoring a depleted Terps defense while Ritarita brought his usual speed and attacking skills on the left side of the Terps’ attack.
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