Maryland men’s soccer knew it would have to be ruthless with its chances Monday night against Saint Francis (PA). For a team that already was not clinical the last time out, it seemed evident early on that shots were going to be at a premium for the Terps.
As the clock continued to tick and shots flew past the goal, a scoreless draw seemed the likely outcome. The Red Flash were not in any rush to venture forward and Maryland couldn’t break down a defense that seemed at times to reach 10 men.
But that
all changed in the 40th minute. Defender Brian St. Martin cut the ball back across the goal, and the ball bounced to forward Matias De Jesus. The senior rifled a dangerous shot on goal, forcing a save out of Saint Francis goalie Braeden Sorenson. Standing there for the rebound was forward Luke van Heukelum. He calmly tucked it away for his first of two goals.
Van Heukelum’s brace fueled the Terps to what turned into far from a scoreless tie: a 6-0 victory in front of just over 2,000 fans. The win was Maryland’s first at Ludwig Field this season and propelled it to a 2-0-1 record.
Labor Day action has been friendly to Terps’ head coach Sasho Cirovski in his lengthy tenure at the helm. Through his 32 years as head coach, Cirovski has posted an impressive 7-3-2 record in Labor Day games. Maryland added one more win to that total Monday.
However, it took some time for the Terps to look threatening.
From the opening kickoff, Saint Francis’ gameplan was simple: sit back defensively and capitalize on any counterattacking chances presented to it. Maryland did a good job shutting down the Red Flash’s transition game, though.
On the other side, the Terps struggled to break down Saint Francis’ compact defense. The only two shots for both sides in the first 22 minutes came off the foot of midfielder Albi Ndrenika.
Video review hasn’t been friendly to Maryland this season, with a goal taken away in its last game. The Terps saw another wiped away in the 33rd minute after van Heukelum was ruled offside on a ball headed across the frame by defender Lasse Kelp.
Once Maryland broke through in the 40th minute, the floodgates opened and the goals poured in.
With just a 1-0 lead at the break and several missed chances to show for, the Terps were by no means comfortable with the scoreline. They came out of the locker room with a second gear, relentlessly pressuring Saint Francis and piling on the chances.
In the 57th minute, Maryland doubled its lead with some combination play. De Jesus worked a nifty give-and-go to Ndrenika. Without taking a touch, the senior midfielder let the ball settle before firing home a beautifully struck left-footed shot.
The Terps struck again just over three minutes later. De Jesus ripped a bending effort from the corner of the box, which bounced off the crossbar and the nose of van Heukelum to make it 3-0.
The Terps’ attack never let up. While Maryland failed to score over the next 22 minutes, it pressed its advantage. Eventually, defender Brian St. Martin, midfielder Henry Bernstein and forward Mateo Caride tacked on the final three goals all in the last eight minutes of play.
Three things to know
1. Van Heukelum shines off the bench. Head coach Sasho Cirovski opted to start the freshman instead of van Heukelum tonight in a move to get more offensive firepower. He still made his mark off the bench, though, with a pair of goals falling to him in the box. Van Heukelum was in the right spot at the right time for both his scores.
2. Freshman contributions. With eight freshman additions over the offseason, the Terps’ young core was bound to make an impact at some point. That moment was tonight. Caride — who got the starting nod up front — tacked on his first goal alongside Bernstein.
3. Four-year vet notches first career goal. Playing time for St. Martin has been limited over his time with Maryland, but the local product has
