Maryland men’s soccer held scoreless in loss to Georgetown

Photo courtesy of Allison Mize/Maryland Terrapins

In his second game for Georgetown, freshman Mitchell Baker scored the first two goals of his career to lead the Hoyas to victory in College Park on Sunday.

Maryland men’s soccer (0-1-1) fell to No.16 Georgetown (1-1), 2-0, in a disappointing second straight game without a victory for the Terps. Maryland attempted 13 shots but failed to find a consistent rhythm offensively, especially in an ugly second half. Only three Terps’ shots were on target in the match.

“When they needed to be, I think Georgetown won the moment,” midfielder Max Rogers said. “Whether that be, you know, scrambling to block shots or to clear balls, or winning that set piece header, which they did so often today, credit to them.” 

Maryland tried to press high early and force the Hoyas’ defense into mistakes. But the Terps’ backline made the error, clearing the ball off a Georgetown attacker. The ball bounced to Baker who buried his shot to put the Hoyas ahead after just three minutes. 

Georgetown didn’t enjoy long spells of possession but was quick with the ball on the break. The Hoyas only had 34% possession in the first half but their direct approach created eight shots with five on target. 

Maryland looked to regain momentum after the first goal but slick passing from Georgetown in the 23rd minute led to a second Baker goal. 

Maryland pleaded with the ref for an offside call but the goal was given after a lengthy review. The Terps were also frustrated because they had played the ball out of bounds because of an injury and expected the Hoyas to throw the ball back instead of pressing forward. 

“Apparently, the ref told him, ‘Look, the sportsmanship thing to do would be to give the ball back, but I cannot force it,’” midfielder Alex Nitzl said. “Obviously, it’s not a rule. You don’t have to play the ball back. I don’t know, we were expecting them to play the ball back, they didn’t.”

Georgetown’s offense went flat in the second half, not threatening the Maryland box. But the Hoyas defense locked down the Terps’ attack to hold their advantage.

The Terps controlled the majority of possession in the first half where they worked some dangerous looks but couldn’t find the finishing touch. Maryland attempted six shots in the half but only three were on target.

Defender Luca Costabile fired a knuckleball toward the top left corner in the ninth minute, forcing an athletic save from goalie Tenzing Manske. Costabile’s runs up the left side provided a spark for Maryland. The junior often combined with others to create looks at goals. 

“Luca was a really bright spot for our team,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “On both ends of the field, he broke up a lot of plays defensively and he got involved in the attack.” 

Maryland attempted 13 corners but consistently failed to execute or make Manske work in goal. The Terps launched crosses into the box challenging the Hoyas’ center backs but couldn’t direct many headers on target.

“We need to get better at heading the ball, it’s not complicated,” Cirovski said. “We have to find some guys that want to attack the ball and can time it and score goals.”

The second half started back and forth but neither side could trouble the opposition’s defense. The Terps tried to find some momentum with the reintroduction of Luke Van Heukelum and Sadam Masereka, neither of whom started the half. But Maryland still lacked a cutting edge.

Georgetown’s backline did a good job of getting in front of Maryland attackers and blocking their shots. The Hoyas defense held strong late and prevented any clear-cut looks for the Terps’ offense to seal the game.

The Terps will look to secure their first win against Detroit (0-1) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in College Park.