NCAA Soccer Playoffs – Terps, Navy, JHU
Screen shot from Terps TV
Three Maryland colleges had late Sunday afternoon NCAA soccer playoff games – the Terps and Navy men, and the Hopkins women.
UMD Men
Maryland survived an oft-too-close game with Providence to move on to the next round of the NCAA Soccer Tournament, beating the Friars 3-1.
The Terps held a 1-0 lead at the half on a goal by Michael Sauers in what was a statistically even game.
Early in the second half, Providence nearly tied the contest as a shot ricocheted off the near post. Even as it seemed that the Terps were beginning to dominate the field of play more and more, a cross from the Friars’ Fabio Machado inside the 18 was cleverly deflected by Phil Towler into the upper net to tie the game.
With about 20 minutes to go, Tsubasa Endoh was taken down inside the penalty area on a tackle from behind, and Patrick Mullins’ penalty kick beat the Providence keeper who guessed in the wrong direction. It was the 15th goal of the season for Mullins and his 9th consecutive successful PK.
The Terps would miss clinching the game with several great chances in the very mouth of the goal, but Jake Pace would seal the game at 3:25 to go with a steal, several dribbles and goal.
The next game in the tournament will be against UC Irvine, who will be hosted by the #5 Terps next Sunday evening.
Navy Men
The Midshipmen soccer team was in Winston-Salem, NC playing #14 Wake Forest at the exact hour as the UMD game. Though putting up a valiant fight, the Demon Deacons prevailed in the contest 2-1.
The Navy men qualified to play Wake by virtue of a 3-0 victory over Virginia Commonwealth University this past Thursday. Wake Forest, like Maryland, had an automatic bye into the second round of the tournament.
Navy had a very successful season, finishing with a final record of 16-4-2. The loss to Wake Forest broke a 15-game winning streak.
JHU Women
On the Division III level, the Johns Hopkins women were vying for a trip to the final four. Needing a Sunday victory over host Middlebury in brutal conditions in Vermont, they took a scoreless game into the final minute of regulation.
With 17 seconds remaining, Middlebury scored to win the game 1-0.
The loss broke a 12-game win streak for the JHU women, who finished the season with a final record of 21-2-1.