Dan Gelfand/The Hoya Maryland outshot freshman forward Ricky Schramm and the Hoyas, 19-8, but Georgetown had momentum for most of the second half before surrendering a third goal to the Terps.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – They could have won. Maybe they should have won. But in the end, it was not the men’s soccer team’s night.

Maybe the University of Maryland’s fans could walk back to their dorms knowing that their team’s unbeaten streak at Ludwig Field did not fall apart under the lights on Wednesday, but maybe watching the Terps’ ardent followers squirm uncomfortably during the minutes of silence and doubt that settled over them was enough to make the game worthwhile. The hotly-contested battle between Georgetown and No. 2 Maryland may have fallen 3-2 in the latter’s favor, but the game may serve as a watershed in what has been a tepid season for the Hoyas so far.

“Who had the courage and character in this game? I think both teams did. They came out right away and wanted to take it right to us, and we didn’t break,” head coach Keith Tabatznik said.

After falling to pieces during the second half of last weekend’s game against Providence, Georgetown was not expected to have strong chances against Maryland, a team that had remained on top of the polls until dropping to No. 2 after a tight loss to conference rival North Carolina. On top of this, the Hoyas had to trek to their opponents’ campus. The Terrapins are not familiar with losing on home turf, especially with a chorus of raucous, devoted fans spurring them on.

“We get a few games like this every year, and that’s the fun part. The best part of these games is the atmosphere. If you keep your head on it makes it that much more exciting,” senior goalkeeper Tim Hogan said of the 1,158 spectators who spent much of the time heckling him with chants, bells and cutout letters of his name.

The first minutes of the game appeared to fulfill most people’s dour prophecies for Georgetown. Maryland possessed a definite edge and plenty of confidence in the opening minutes. The Terps moved the ball forward and created some chances, but were not able to take advantage in the first 15 minutes.

Soon, disaster struck Georgetown on a pair of nearly identical plays. In the 17th minute, sophomore defender Kenney Bertz fed the ball to senior midfielder Sumed Ibrahim from the right corner. Ibrahim headed the ball from the right corner of the box into the corner of the goal. Only two and a half minutes later, Ibrahim notched another goal off a header once again from Bertz, this time from the left corner of the field.

“It’s difficult to be down two goals to a team that no one’s supposed to touch. We’re all proud of each other for keeping our heads as well as we did,” Hogan said.

While the pair of quick goals animated the crowd, the Hoyas remained resilient and soon shook up the Terps with an offensive attack leading to Georgetown’s first goal of the night. As the Hoyas pushed the ball around their hosts’ penalty box almost 30 minutes into the first half, Terp junior goalkeeper Noah Palmer made a save. His attempt to clear the ball was intercepted by junior forward Kaiser Chowdhry who was fouled on the one-on-one with Palmer inside the box. Sophomore defender Jeff Curtin took the penalty shot, sending the ball deep into the right corner of the goal while the goalkeeper dived in the opposite direction.

The goal reinvigorated the team, reviving Georgetown’s chances. The reversal of fortune rattled the Maryland players as well, and Georgetown gained the upper hand through the remaining 15 minutes of the half.

“After the first half, we needed to put a lot of pressure in the back because they were too comfortable moving the ball around. You can’t do that sort of work up front with the same people, so it took six different guys, which is unusual for us,” Tabatznik said.

Coming into the second half, the Hoyas knew that they would need to find a way to score the equalizer against a team that had not given up two goals to a single opponent this season and had only given up three goals throughout their first 10 games. Maryland, however, was disengaged and lacked the same intensity as the early first half. Georgetown went on the attack, creating some opportunities around the goal. The team connected in the 64th minute off a play from a corner kick. Curtin attempted to head the ball in from the left post. The ball was deflected, but junior defender Paul Brandley headed the ball in from the right post to tie the game at 2-2.

The turn of events stunned Maryland and its fans, and the crowd remained quiet for most of the remainder of the half. The Hoyas had the momentum and the Terps looked sluggish on the field. It appeared as if the Blue and Gray might walk away with the upset. But Maryland had enough vigor to spoil the fairy-tale ending, coming up with a goal that rang the death knell for Georgetown.

“There was probably a time there after we tied it when it looked like we were the team that was going to win,” Tabatznik said. “The pressure we had behind [Maryland] stopped 10 minutes before their game winning goal, though not because they had turned it on us.”

With 6:16 remaining in the game, Maryland brought the ball up into Georgetown’s territory. Sumed came up with a pass to senior midfielder Scott Buete who took a shot that rocketed past Hogan into the lower left corner of the goal.

The Hoyas moved up their players in an attempt to find a tying goal, but the team could not come up with any significant chances. The game ended on a sour note, as time expired while Georgetown waited for a call inside the box that never came. Maryland strutted of the field relieved that it had survived for its 26th consecutive win over Georgetown.

“I give Georgetown credit for fighting all the way through. They are a very good team. They have a history of beating some top teams, but I’m glad it wasn’t us tonight,” Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski said.

The loss drops the Hoyas to 4-6-2 for the season while the Terps move up to 10-1-0. Despite the loss, Georgetown demonstrated more consistency then they have shown this season. With a 1-4-0 record in the Big East, the team needs to grab four of the last five conference bouts to have a likely shot at the postseason tournament. Georgetown’s next challenge will be a matchup against conference opponent Pittsburgh this Sunday.