By. Wesley Schnell
COLLEGE PARK, MD – Maryland men’s soccer faced off against San Diego State for the first time in program history Monday night. A chippy battle stayed even throughout, ending in a 1-1 draw as time expired.
“I was very pleased with the performance of our team, particularly with a few key players being out of the match today,” Terps’ head coach Sasho Cirovski said.
The Terps (2-1-3) came off an impressive 2-1 victory with a go-ahead free kick goal in the 82nd minute in their last match against Brown. San Diego State (3-2-1) strolled into College Park with momentum of its own following a 1-0 win over Sacramento State on Friday.
To say it was a physical start would be an understatement. The Aztecs committed three fouls in the first eight minutes and each team also picked up a yellow card in the first 10 minutes.
The Aztecs broke through in the 15th minute to take a 1-0 lead. A strong counterattack gave the Aztecs numbers up the field, allowing forward Austin Brummett to cash in off of a feed from Rommee Jaridly.
Maryland earned its first corner kick of the game in the 21st minute. Kenny Quist-Therson sent a cross into the box, but the Terps sent a deflection just wide of the net.
Two minutes later, junior defender Brian St. Martin stopped the ball just short of the endline on the right side of the field, before sending a beautiful cross field ball to the left flank. Colin Griffith received the lofted pass and sent a blistering shot into the top right corner to tie the game at one a piece.
In the 29th minute, Terence St. Okoeguale was given a yellow card. Eight minutes later, San Diego State back-up goalie Djibril Doumbia was shown a yellow while he was still on the bench. The Aztecs would later tack on another for their fourth booking of the opening half.
It was an incredibly intense opening 45 minutes, especially for the first ever meeting between the two schools. There were a total of six total yellow cards on 13 fouls, 11 of which were committed by the Aztecs.
In the 54th minute, Maryland forward Luke Van Heukelum sprinted in behind the Aztecs back line, setting up a one on one with Aztec keeper Eddy Vargas. But the sophomore forward put too much power into the shot as it sailed over the net.
Van Heukelum was also shaken up after the play but walked off the field under his own power.
Max Rodgers had another great look for Maryland in the 61st minute, but Vargas made a great save to spoil the opportunity.
In the 71st minute, Quist-Therson put on a series of skillful moves to navigate around the Aztec defense in the box. The chance was once again stopped by Vargas but the shot stopper went down with an injury, forcing the Aztecs to bring on Doumbia, who already had the aforementioned yellow card to his name.
The Aztecs appeared to break the deadlock in the 80th minute, but an offsides penalty saw the goal called back as soon as it hit the net.
The first half scores ultimately held, with the first ever meeting between Maryland and San Diego State ending in a 1-1 tie. Between the 11 yellow cards and 32 total fouls, just six shots landed on target.
Maryland ends its six-game homestand on Friday when No. 10 Wisconsin comes to College Park for a critical matchup to start Big Ten play. Jack Susanin and Jack Bowman will have the call from Ludwig Field for WMUC Sports.
“I think they’re right for the rank of a top 10 team, and it’ll be a big challenge for us, and we’re highly motivated for the matchup on Friday,” said Cirovski.
