Maryland forward Kimani Stewart-Baynes held the ball left of the goal. Maryland freshman Luke van Heukelum stood in the middle of the box as Stewart-Baynes made a move to his right. The freshman found a passing lane and sent the ball (with velocity) to van Heukelum who redirected the ball with his left foot, sending it into the netting.
The goal was one of two goals the Terps scored in a four-minute span in the second half propelling them to a 3-0 victory over the Navy Midshipmen Tuesday night at Ludwig Field. The win was the Terps’ fourth of the season, but it didn’t hold the same feelings as a win should.
Earlier in the evening, The Ohio State Buckeyes, who are right above Maryland in the Big Ten standings, clinched their ticket to the Big Ten Tournament with a 3-2 win over Michigan State. The win officially eliminated the Terps from earning a spot in the Big Ten Tournament.
“Very mixed emotions,” said head coach Sasho Cirovski. “Very pleased with the performance of our team tonight. Very happy to play the entire team today. Gutted with the result in East Lansing in the way that that happened, because that just means that our season ends on Sunday.”
The second and third goals of the win were scored by sophomore forward, Max Riley, both in the second half. Riley scored once from the middle of the box on a left-footed goal to the bottom right of the net. His second score came on a corner kick that was headed by senior Stefan Copetti. Riley tapped the Copetti header into the net for his second score.
“Throughout the season, as I just said, the second half of the season we’ve been clicking up front and I know the past couple of games, we’ve been scoring some goals so it just clicked really well tonight,” said Riley.
The second half was a complete turnaround from the first half. The Terps started their usual starting lineup in the second half and it showed in the offensive performance. Maryland recorded nine shots in the second half, six of them on goal. The Maryland defense continued its first-half play and held the Midshipmen to just one shot and none on goal, preserving the clean sheet for freshman goalkeeper Saxon Wolcott.
Wolcott made his first appearance as a Maryland Terrapin and saved two shots, both during the first half. Wolcott was one of three new Terps in the starting lineup for the game.
“We wanted to reward a lot of the young players but also give them an opportunity to play,” said Cirovski.
Maryland will take on Ohio State on Sunday in the season finale. The game will take place in Columbus, Ohio.
“We’ll be back next year. Don’t forget that,” said Riley.
