After 90 minutes of game time, which took almost two-and-a-half actual hours, 32 fouls and 11 yellow cards, Maryland men’s soccer was left yearning for more Monday night.
“It just leaves that taste in your mouth, it’s unfortunate not getting the result we wanted,” Matias de Jesus said.
The Terps earned their third draw of the season, 1-1, at home against San Diego State. Junior Colin Griffith scored the lone goal, despite the team firing nine shots.
Before the contest even kicked off, head coach Sasho Cirovski revised the game plan, trotting out a new look starting 11. The changes ranged from giving Hudson Blatteis his first start at keeper to multiple new faces on the back line coming in for mainstays like captain Alex Nitzl.
One of the notable newcomers was Bjarne Thiesen, who returned from injury and replaced Chris Steinleitner at center back.
“We’re just trying to manage some minutes,” Cirovski said. “We have a big match coming up on Friday [against No. 10 Wisconsin].”
Thiesen almost had a dream return to the starting lineup, receiving a beautiful cross from a Max Rogers free kick and heading it toward the bottom left corner. However, it was denied by a heroic effort from Aztecs’ goalie Eddy Vargas.
Instead, around 15 minutes later, San Diego State took the lead from a very similar situation. Instead of a free kick, Rommee Jaridly received the ball on Maryland’s right flank and found Austin Brummett, who had slipped behind William Kulvik, and headed it home for his third goal of the season.
A theme this year, Maryland demonstrated resilience after conceding. It instantly fought for the equalizer, but were impeded by physical play from the Aztecs, a tone they seemed eager to set from the first whistle.
As a result, they collected four yellow cards in the opening 45 minutes. Maryland accumulated two of its own.
But the Terps continued to apply pressure, eventually finding their breakthrough. Rogers led Brian St. Martin down the wing with a through ball that he appeared to have no chance of receiving.
Somehow, though, St. Martin beat Nir Drori, San Diego State’s wingback who had a head start, and bodied him away from the ball before sending it to Griffith. Griffith volleyed it beautifully into the corner for his first goal since his freshman year.
“Obviously, it feels really good to get one,” Griffith said. “When you get one, more usually come.”
The game remained knotted at on, and around 20 minutes later, both teams headed to the locker room for the half.
Under 10 minutes into the second half, the clearest chance on goal for either team came to the Terps as Aidan Sheppela chipped a beautifully weighted ball behind the defense for Luke Van Heukelum, who was alone in front of Vargas. However, he couldn’t find the net, lifting the ball over the goal to the left side.
To make matters worse, Van Heukelum went to the ground in the process and seemed to injure his shoulder. He eventually left in an ambulance with his shoulder heavily taped.
If the game was relatively even for the first 45 minutes, Maryland truly seized momentum in the final 45 minutes.
Quickly after Van Heukelum, Rogers was denied his second goal in two games by another beautiful save from Vargas. Later it was Kenny Quist-Therson who beat a flurry of Aztec defenders before being denied by Vargas, who sacrificed himself and took a blow to the face.
The Terps continued to pound on the door, but couldn’t quite get it to open.
The game ended knotted at one apiece, and although Maryland wanted the win, it has not lost in four games.
Three things to know
1. Physical battle. This game was Maryland fans’ first opportunity to see how the team would react to a game that its opponent was looking to turn into a dog fight. It took Maryland about 15 minutes to adjust, but it eventually seemed comfortable matching the physicality of the Aztecs, who committed 22 fouls and received seven yellows.
The game did potentially cost the Terps a starting forward, though, depending on the severity of Van Heukelum’s injury.
“This was a very physical game and we stood tall,” Cirovski said. “We didn’t back down and I felt we controlled the match.”
2. Marked improvement offensively. Griffith’s first-half finish gave Maryland’s offense its first goal from open play since its win over Detroit Mercy. It took some impressive goalkeeping and some unfortunate bounces to keep the Terps from finding another.
3. The Badgers are waiting. Maryland entered this game knowing that on the other side, its most difficult matchup of the season against No. 10 Wisconsin awaited. This colored some of Cirovski’s lineup decisions. The Badgers have conceded just two total goals all season.
