The NC State men’s soccer team was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament with a 2-0 loss to the 11-seeded Maryland Terrapins in College Park, Maryland Sunday.
The Wolfpack (10-7-3) and Terrapins (9-6-4) have met a previous 72 times before today, with the Wolfpack historically struggling against the former ACC school with a record of 19-47-6 in those previous games.
That struggle continued early in this game as the Terrapins established themselves as the dominant side early on, scoring just 10 minutes into the game. An uncharacteristic turnover by sophomore goalkeeper Leon Krapf allowed Amar Sejdic, Maryland’s top scorer, an open shot at the top of the box.
Maryland nearly doubled its advantage a few minutes later, but thanks to a combination of Krapf and sophomore defender David Norris the Wolfpack was able to keep the deficit at just one.
The Wolfpack settled into the game around the half hour mark when it was able to hold solid periods of possession which got the ball into dangerous areas, however it failed to get a shot away. While the Wolfpack held possession, Maryland was still dangerous showing that it could play effectively on the counter.
The Wolfpack’s first real opportunity came very late in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Brad Sweeney took an inswinging corner which hit against the far post. Maryland was able to get to the ball first and clear it away for another corner before anyone from the Wolfpack could pounce on the ball.
At the end of a half, which Maryland dominated, the Wolfpack went into the break down by only a single goal. Despite not registering an actual shot on goal in the first half, the Wolfpack will feel hard done to not have a goal of its own after Sweeney nearly equalized late in the half.
The Terrapins nearly doubled their advantage early in the second half. Paul Bin rounded Krapf, who was caught well out of his box, but Norris was able to tackle Bin before he got an angle to shoot.
Maryland eventually doubled its advantage 10 minutes into the second half on a corner kick. After the initial ball into the box was flicked on, the ball was headed home by Sebastian Elney into an empty net.
The Wolfpack recorded its first actual shot of the game in the 77th minute when freshman forward Aidan Foster’s shot was saved by the Maryland keeper.
With the loss to Maryland, the Wolfpack ends the season with a record of 10-7-3 and an appearance in the NCAA second round for the first time since 2009.
