No. 11 Maryland men's soccer falls to Washington, 2-1

SSitting in fifth place in the Big Ten table, a win for No. 11 Maryland men’s soccer would give it some much-needed breathing room in the conference standings.

Maryland entered the top-15 showdown with No. 7 Washington on a three-game winning streak and fourth in the Big Ten.

But the Terps dropped a 2-1 decision, a result that saw them lose their first match since Oct. 9.

The teams combined for 15 shots and 7 shots on goal in the first half. The Terps outshot the Huskies 10-5, but Washington had more quality chances, none bigger than Zach Ramsey’s in the 13th minute.

After receiving a pass in the penalty box, Ramsey, the country’s leading goal scorer, fired a shot that went off the crossbar and nearly gave Washington an early advantage.

There were instances early on that indicated that just one minor slip-up would be enough to create a goal. But Maryland’s backline did a nice job at minimizing the damage.

But one can only do so much to stop the Big Ten’s highest-scoring team.

After Washington dispossessed a Maryland throw-in, Alex Hall delivered a cross from the left side of the box that was able to find its way to Ramsey due to a defensive breakdown. Mack did get a hand on the ball, but was unable to corral it, allowing Ramsey to get an easy goal in the 31st minute.

“We have to start minimizing the mistakes,” coach Sasho Cirovski said.

Ramsey, who also has 5 assists this season, has accounted for nearly 60% of his team’s goal production. He has failed to score in just three of his 15 games played. Cirovski described the midfielder as someone “who knows where the ball is gonna end up.”

At the start of the second half, head coach Sasho Cirovski emphasized that his team needed to take more lower shots. Of the ten attempts in the first half, five were categorized as “high.”

In the 58th minute, at the top right of the box, freshman forward Jake Goetting had a wonderful strike that found the upper left side of the net, giving the Huskies a 2-goal advantage and also showing the depth that this team possesses.

It appeared that the Huskies would roll to another win. Ramsey had even sat on the bench for the first part of the second half.

But that was before a familiar face for the Terps had another highlight-reel moment.

In the 71st minute, Ndrenika delivered a cross to Rodrigo Neri, who was covered by three Washington defenders. It did not matter, as the Spaniard headed the ball into the back of the net for his 8th goal of the season. It cut the lead in half, and all of a sudden the Terps had life.

Mack was crucial in keeping the deficit at just one. Including a trio of saves against Ramsey, Mack made multiple saves, proving why he was named the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year last season. The seven saves made tonight were the second consecutive match in which he reached that number.

But despite the heroics by Mack and the efforts from Ndrenika, Neri, and Henry Bernstein (combined for 15 shots), it was not enough for the Terps.

Going back to what Cirovski had said at the beginning of the second half, only three of the nine shots were labeled as “high.” Ironically, the goal by Neri was marked at the bottom-left.

The Terps outshot the Huskies 19-15 in the game, but tonight’s loss was a rare occurrence in which the Terps did not pull out a victory this season. Coming into Friday’s contest, Maryland was 7-1-1 when outshooting its opponent.

“I thought we were the better team,” Cirovski said.

He also made note of the sloppy play and turnovers committed and that the Terps were their “own worst enemy.”

The Huskies have not lost since Sept. 18, when they fell 1-0 to Indiana. They are 6-0-2 since, including tonight’s win. During this current streak, Washington has outscored its opponents 17-5. They currently sit in first place in the Big Ten standings and already have a berth secured in the Big Ten Tournament.

For the Terps, they sit at fifth in the standings. The top six teams qualify for the tournament. They’ll be back in College Park on Wednesday to face Penn State, which sits at the bottom of the conference.

After receiving a pass in the penalty box, Ramsey, the country’s leading goal scorer, fired a shot that went off the crossbar and nearly gave Washington an early advantage.

There were instances early on that indicated that just one minor slip-up would be enough to create a goal. But Maryland’s backline did a nice job at minimizing the damage.

But one can only do so much to stop the Big Ten’s highest-scoring team.

“We have to start minimizing the mistakes,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said.

At the start of the second half, head coach Sasho Cirovski emphasized that his team needed to take more lower shots. Of the ten attempts in the first half, five were categorized as “high.”

It appeared that the Huskies would roll to another win. Ramsey had even sat on the bench for the first part of the second half.

But that was before a familiar face for the Terps had another highlight-reel moment.

But despite the heroics by Mack and the efforts from Ndrenika, Neri, and Henry Bernstein (combined for 15 shots), it was not enough for the Terps.

Going back to what Cirovski had said at the beginning of the second half, only three of the nine shots were labeled as “high.” Ironically, the goal by Neri was marked at the bottom-left.

The Terps outshot the Huskies 19-15 in the game, but tonight’s loss was a rare occurrence in which the Terps did not pull out a victory this season. Coming into Friday’s contest, Maryland was

“I thought we were the better team,” Cirovski said.

He also made note of the sloppy play and turnovers committed and that the Terps were their “own worst enemy.”

The Huskies have not lost since Sept.18, when they fell 1-0 to Indiana. They are 6-0-2 since, including tonight’s win. During this current streak, Washington has outscored its opponents 17-5. They currently sit in first place in the Big Ten standings and already have a berth secured in the Big Ten Tournament.