Second-half burst leads Maryland men’s soccer over Penn State

Maryland men's soccer

By: Brittney Bridges

The Maryland men’s soccer team traveled to University Park, Pennsylvania to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday afternoon.

The Maryland Terrapins entered the afternoon undefeated in the Big Ten conference and were supported by a handful of Maryland fans, also referred to as “The Crew,” which made the trip to support the third-ranked Terps.

That home-away-from-home helped Maryland defeat Penn State 2-0 to remain undefeated on the season.

The Terrapins have struggled to finish and score in the first halves of many of their games this season. That was evident in this game, where the Terps took just four first half shots and were unable to score.

Luckily for the Terps, their defense kept the Nittany Lions scoreless, allowing only one shot.

The first half of the game was tied 0-0. Neither team was getting many shots on goal. Penn State goalie Evan Finney made three saves the entire game, while Maryland’s Dayne St. Clair didn’t have to make any.

About five minutes into the second half, junior Sebastian Elney scored off of an easy kick from Eryk Williamson, giving Elney his second goal of the season. For most, it was refreshing to have someone show their offensive presence besides Gordon Wild, the team-leader in goals.

Maryland didn’t take its foot off the gas, with Eryk Williamson getting his second goal of the season off of a Jake Rozhansky assist toward the end of regulation. This gave Rozhansky’s fifth assist of the season.

While this matchup was no nail-biter, it was a suitable start to the Terrapins road trip. Their next game is a highly-anticipated matchup against an undefeated and sixth-ranked Michigan State team. The Terrapins take on the Spartans this Friday at 7 p.m.