By: Calvin Towne
No. 7 Maryland Soccer was coming off their first loss of the season, a 4-0 blowout against Northwestern.
But despite their rebound game coming against another top-10 team, the Terps prevailed 1-0 against No. 7 Wisconsin.
“Our guys, I think, showed their grit, their competitiveness, their toughness in this game,” said head coach Sasho Cirovski. “And that’s something that, hopefully, will prepare us for challenges like that in the remainder of the year.”
The game got physical early, as Wisconsin earned a yellow card in the first minute for taking down a Maryland player just outside the box.
Ljubomir Popovic’s resulting shot was saved.
The Badgers had many more chances as they got three shots off in the first five minutes.
One was saved by Laurin Mack, and two more were blocked.
The game stayed physical for the first part of the first half, as four fouls occurred in the first twenty minutes, including the yellow card given in the first minute.
One of the first major chances for the Terps came in the 20th minute.
Rocket Ritarita placed a ball across goal that found no feet and bounced to the other side of the pitch.
A few minutes later, Wisconsin had a chance of their own. Matthew Zachemski recorded Wisconsin’s third shot on goal of the game; however, it was saved by Mack.
With just two minutes left in the first half, Maryland had another scoring opportunity.
Midfielder Albi Ndrenika used a wonderful bit of skill to slide between two defenders and get off a shot near the corner of the six-yard box; but the shot was parried away by Badgers goalkeeper Judewellin Michel.
As the first half came to a close, the teams were still tied at zero. This was not for a complete lack of offensive production, as the two sides combined for 13 shots total, as well as five on target.
Michel ended the period with two saves for the Badgers while Mack had three for the Terps.
The game’s physicality gave the Terps another chance early in the second half, when a Wisconsin foul gave them a free kick from the right side of the box.
Ljubomir Popovic stood over the kick, launching a ball into the box. The ball found the head of Said El Eyssami in the center of the box, who pounced on the opportunity to put Maryland ahead with the first goal of the game.
“The preparation the whole team had was impeccable and that prepared us for a game this intense and we got the result,” El Eyssami said.
Another set piece came in the 58th minute, when another free kick was put into the box, but this one was saved by Michel.
A few minutes later, the referee’s book was opened again, as Lilian Fichelle collided with a Wisconsin player, which resulted in him seeing yellow card for the first time this season.
Shortly after, another yellow was shown to a Maryland player, as Said El Eyssami was also put in the referee’s book.
Then, almost immediately, Franklin Affanyi was also booked, ending a Maryland period with three yellow cards shown in just three and a half minutes.
The yellows would not stop coming for the Terps, as Luka Juricic got another card in the 72nd minute, and Dominic Ayella got one in the 88th minute. Five yellow cards is the most the Terps have had in a game this season, and the six combined yellows are the most in any Maryland match this season.
One final corner in the last minute gave the Badgers one last chance, as they sent up all 11 players; however, the kick was batted away by Mack, and the Terps secured a 1-0 win.
The win is the Terps third top-ten victory of the season.
