By Juan Herrera
The University of Maryland’s men’s soccer team faced off against Georgetown University on Friday night, in a game that will certainly be remembered as a classic.
In front of the fourth largest crowd in Maryland men’s soccer history, the Terps were stuck in a 1-1 gridlock with Georgetown, with only a few minutes to go.
Just when it seemed like the game would be heading to overtime, the referee blew his whistle and called a foul in Georgetown’s penalty box. The crowd erupted with a loud roar.
Thanks to a pass that bounced off a Georgetown defender, Maryland forward Gordon Wild was able to break through the Hoyas’ backline to force a foul and earn a penalty kick.
With only 44 seconds left, Wild lined up to take the penalty kick and potentially win the game for Maryland. The crowd at Ludwig Field went completely silent as the University of South Carolina Upstate transfer ran up to take his shot.
He shot the ball right down the middle and Georgetown’s goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski made the save with his feet, but it wasn’t enough. Wild was able to collect the rebound and shoot the ball into the empty net to give Maryland a 2-1 lead to win the game.
“I’m still speechless,” Wild said after the game. “You can’t describe that feeling when the whole team comes up to you and helping the team in that way in the last minute, especially getting a game winner. These are moments you live for and moments I especially live for.”
Despite the close goal margin, Maryland dominated possession for most of the first half. Midfielders Amar Sejdic and Jake Rozhansky were all over the field creating scoring opportunities and taking shots.
But Maryland’s biggest difference maker in the first half was Gordon Wild. He finished the first half with three shots and he looked like a scoring threat every time he had the ball at his feet.
The Terps finished the first half with nine total shots, while Georgetown only had two. Although Maryland dominated the game offensively, Georgetown’s backline was able to hold off the Terps to keep the game scoreless at halftime.
Georgetown put the pressure on Maryland’s defense right at the start of the second half. The Hoyas pushed several men forward and forced Maryland goalkeeper Cody Niedermeier to make a few saves.
Even though Georgetown kept pushing, the Terps’ backline would not bend. Maryland defender Chris Odoi-Atsem played especially well at his position. He was aggressive off the ball and did well marking the Hoyas’ forwards.
Then in the 54th minute, Maryland midfielder Eryk Williamson was able to break through Georgetown’s defense with a strong run to score his first goal of the season and give the Terps a 1-0 lead.
“He (Williamson) is a special player,” Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski said. “It was going to take a highly skilled play like that to beat Marcinkowski today.”
Although Georgetown was down by a goal, the team played like the aggressor for the next several minutes. The Hoyas continued to swarm Maryland’s defenders, forcing mistakes and bad passes.
Georgetown midfielder Arun Basuljevic and forward Achara played aggressively and created problems for Maryland’s backline. Then in the 84th minute of the game, the Hoyas were able to capitalize on a defensive error from Maryland to score and tie the game 1-1 with only six minutes remaining.
At this point it was anybody’s game. The next few minutes of the game were a gridlock. Neither team wanted to give up a goal. Then, with less than a minute to go, the referee blew his whistle and called a foul in Georgetown’s penalty box.
Wild missed the penalty kick, but he managed to collect the rebound and score to give Maryland the 2-1 win. It was his third goal of the season.
“Tonight we were able to push through and put ourselves in a good place moving forward,” Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski said. “I think our team showed some toughness tonight.”
The Terps will be back in action on Monday to take on the University of South Florida at Ludwig Field. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
