Maryland (7-4-4, 1-3-1 ACC) got help from several infrequently used reserves – Terrapins freshman defender Sean Flatley and senior midfielder Aki Kadotani each came on as substitutes and recorded goals in the match. For Georgetown (5-10-0, 3-5-0 Big East), it was only the fourth time all season that the team surrendered more than one goal.
Maryland Head Coach Sasho Cirovski said that his team was tired from a 1-1 overtime tie on Sunday against Cal State Northridge and, despite the win, didn’t play its best.
“We didn’t play with the energy and pressure that you would usually see from a Maryland soccer team,” he said. “But we got some key contributions from our reserves.”
Flatley, who came onto the field in the 40th minute, opened the scoring with a header off a corner from senior midfielder Stephen King in the 44th minute. The tally was Flatley’s first collegiate goal.
About 10 minutes into the second half, King, who leads Maryland with eight assists, set up Kadotani.
“On the second goal, Stephen King gave a great individual effort running through the Georgetown defense, getting to the baseline and serving the ball across [to Kadotani] for a volley,” Cirovski said.
In a 2-0 hole, the Georgetown offense – which has just 10 goals on the season – struck a blow.
In the 66th minute, junior midfielder Sean Bellomy laid a pass off to freshman forward Chandler Diggs inside the Maryland box. Diggs slipped a pass back to Bellomy in front of the net and Bellomy buried his first goal of the season to bring the Hoyas within one. Diggs now has two assists to go along with three goals, good for a team-leading eight points on the season.
Georgetown’s offense took five of their seven shots in the second half and forced Maryland’s freshman keeper Will Swaim to make two saves.
“Georgetown put a lot of pressure on us in the last 20 minutes of the game,” Cirovski said. “They could have had another goal or two with better finishing.”
The Hoyas nearly tied the score with a minute to play, when aryland cleared a ball from their box across midfield to Georgetown keeper Joe Devine, who collected the ball just inside the Hoyas’ half and sent it back toward his teammates near the Terrapins’ goal. The ball bounced once and got over the head of Swaim, who had to retreat and knock the ball over the crossbar to prevent a miraculous goal.
“We had as many shots as they did, but watching the tape, I saw half a dozen balls through their six-yard box that weren’t counted as shots but were probably more dangerous,” Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese said.
The Hoyas’ defense continued their solid play despite the two goals allowed. They limited the Terrapins to seven shots, less than half their season average. Outside of the two goals, Maryland did not put a shot on goal.
The loss ended a two-game winning streak for Georgetown, while aryland extended its unbeaten streak to seven matches, in which they are 4-0-3.
The Hoyas will now focus on wrapping up a berth to the Big East tournament when they play host to the Pittsburgh Panthers tomorrow afternoon. Georgetown is ahead of Marquette by five points in the standings and holds the tiebreaker against the Golden Eagles. arquette only has two games remaining, so Georgetown only needs a tie this weekend to ensure a bid to the conference tournament. Wiese is not shooting for a draw, however, as he still hopes the team can get a high enough seed in the tournament to host a first-round game.
“If we don’t get three points against Pittsburgh, [a home game in the first round] goes right out the window,” he said.
The Hoyas could not be playing a better team in their search for the school’s first postseason appearance since 2005. The lowly Panthers are 2-12-1 on the season and have not recorded a win in the conference, going 0-8-1 on the year. Pittsburgh has been outscored 22-4 in league matches and has allowed an average of two goals per game, almost double what Georgetown is surrendering each contest.
The match coincides with the Goals Unlimited Alumni Weekend, where the 1997 Georgetown team that made the second round of the NCAA tournament will be honored. Festivities, including a three-on-three tournament, will begin at 9:30 a.m. and kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on North Kehoe Field.