Having kept No. 1-seed Indiana scoreless through the first half of its Big Ten Tournament semifinal game, No. 5-seed Maryland men’s soccer entered the second half with an opportunity to redeem its early-season loss.
Unfortunately for the Terps, their resolve dissolved 90 seconds after the break.
A corner kick swung in by the Hoosiers wasn’t cleared by Farouk Cisse, with the ball bouncing off his body and back towards the mass of players. Indiana striker Easton Bogard separated from the pack and swung his left
foot at the shot; it bounced off the body of Maryland’s Maxwell Sekyi and into the roof of the net.
The scrappy 47th-minute goal gave Indiana the victory in a scrappy game, as the Terps fell 1-0 on a rain-soaked field in Bloomington, Indiana.
The conditions led to the game’s start being delayed twice, from a scheduled 6 p.m. kickoff to an eventual 8:15 p.m. start.
While the rain subsided before kickoff, its remnants were apparent as the teams vied for early possession. Passes from both sides fizzed along the surface, and several players struggled for footing — including Maryland winger Dominic Ayella, who slipped and fell while attempting to latch onto a chance five minutes in.
Rodrigo Neri had the first clear chance of the game in the 12th minute, stealing an errant backpass, but he fired a tame shot from the edge of the box.
After Maryland controlled the opening 15 minutes, Indiana grew into the game, earning the best opportunity of the first half midway through the period.
A turnover deep in Maryland’s half let former Terp Stephane Njike slide a pass to a wide-open Bogard inside the box. The striker let the ball roll across his body and onto his left foot, but with goalkeeper Laurin Mack and a defender closing down, Bogard blazed his shot into the black sky.
Head coach Sasho Cirovski brought on counterattacking threats in striker Said El Eyssami and winger Marco Wright soon thereafter to try to give Maryland another dimension offensively, but the Terps still couldn’t find a second shot on goal before halftime.
In the 36th minute, Bogard and Njike each had a chance to test Mack, but the freshmen center back tandem of Sekyi and Franklin Affanyi each blocked a shot to keep the game scoreless.
Sekyi’s night nearly went from bad to worse in the 55th minute, when he lunged into the back of Indiana midfielder Charlie Heuer while attempting to catch up on a breakaway. Referees didn’t award a penalty on the field and upheld the decision after a review that lasted several minutes.
That review stifled Indiana’s momentum, and Maryland emerged with greater control of the game. The Terps threatened on a pair of set pieces but couldn’t get the ball toward the net as a shot drought ticked over 20 minutes.
The control was short-lived, though, as Indiana appeared to extend its lead. Attacking a deep free kick, Bogard glanced a header back across the box. Kinsella ran onto the chance, the ball bouncing off the right back’s right shoulder and arcing over the head of Mack. But the goal was chalked off for handball on review, the monitor again providing Maryland a lifeline.
The Terps’ first shot of the second half finally came with 25 minutes to go, when Albi Ndrenika slipped Henry Bernstein behind the defense. From the same place Bogard skied his first-half chance, Bernstein had a wild attempt of his own soar over the frame.
As Maryland pressed for its equalizer, the game became stretched, favoring the Hoosiers. Indiana had two massive chances go begging, failing to convert twice on a three-on-two opportunity and seeing a header from four yards out on a second ball curl inches over the crossbar.
When Heuer’s shot beat Mack from 12 yards out, Indiana looked to have finally extended its lead — until the ball crashed off the far post back into play to be cleared.
The Terps pulled their fullbacks in favor of traditional wingers with 15 minutes to go in the game and began desperately advancing the ball upfield, but chances didn’t come until very late. In the 89th minute, Bernstein fired a scorching shot from 25 yards out that Indiana goalkeeper Michal Mraz expertly swallowed up.
Maryland maintained the pressure, though, forcing a corner with the seconds ticking down. Mack joined the attackers in the box, and the Terps had their own chance in a crowd. El Eyssami’s thunderous shot hit a defender and bounced clear, with another skyward strike from Ndrenika sealing the Terps’ fate.
Three things to know
1. Great goalkeeping. While Maryland benefited from some refereeing decisions that kept it in the game, it was Mack’s efforts between the pipes that really gave the Terps a chance. The 22-year-old German finished with seven saves and had no chance on the deflected shot that beat him.
2. Hoosiers’ home dominance. Maryland had a tall task Wednesday, with Indiana unbeaten in its 12 games in Bloomington this season. When the Terps couldn’t get off to a fast start, the challenge became steeper — including Wednesday’s result, the Hoosiers have outscored their opponents 18-9 in the second half.
3. What comes next? As the No. 4 team in the RPI, Maryland is effectively assured a spot in the NCAA Tournament. But with a 6-5-1 record against conference foes, the Terps’ ability to host a region will be in question until the committee releases the bracket at 1 p.m. Monday.
