Maryland men’s soccer’s offensive lack of finishing leads to 2-0 defeat to No. 16 Northwestern

As the ball slowly made its way from outside the box, all Northwestern’s Collin McCamy had to choose was which corner of the net was his victim. 

McCamy chose left.

The McCamy missile in the 43rd minute proved to be the match-winner as No. 16 Northwestern (8-0-2, 2-0-1 Big Ten) shutout Maryland (1-5-2, 0-3-1 Big Ten) on Friday, 2-0.

Alex Nitzl decided to take it upon himself to open up the game’s action in the seventh minute, firing a missile from way outside the box. The captain’s effort nailed the crossbar before going out for a goal kick, but injected energy into both his team and the crowd at Ludwig Field.

The Terps rode that momentum for the following couple minutes, seeing multiple opportunities pass them by in the counterattack. All of their forwards had chances at goal throughout the first 30 minutes of the opening half but never could quite finish the play, with the Wildcats’ goalkeeper Jackson Weyman still having yet to be forced into action. 

Maryland received its best chance of the opening half after a Northwestern hand ball in the 26th minute. It won a header inside the box, preventing Weyman from gathering the cross. The ball dropped to the feet of Max Riley, who seemed to have a sure goal, but Weyman made an unbelievable recovery, keeping it out. 

“[Northwestern] did everything they could to win,” Copetti said. “They were blocking shots off the line … I’ve got to give them credit.” 

The Terps believed they notched the opening goal in the 32nd minute. Stefan Copetti got behind the defense thanks to a perfectly weighted through ball and slotted the shot home, but the ref’s flag came up for offsides and the match stayed deadlocked at zero. 

The Wildcats nearly wrestled control back from Maryland in the 34th with a flurry of action inside the box. Luca Costabile picked up a yellow card for a shove just outside the box. McCamy took the free kick in a dangerous position, forcing a big save from sophomore Mikah Seger.

The Terps weren’t out of the woods yet though, as Northwestern delivered a perfect corner on the ensuing play forcing a goal line clearance. The clearance fell to McCamy for yet another shot that took a deflection, and Seger once again came up with the save. 

All of Maryland’s early missed chances eventually came back to bite the Terps in the 43rd minute, when McCamy finally found his goal with a missile from outside the box, firing the Wildcats ahead.

This scoreline held as the sides went into half. Maryland trailed 1-0 despite a dominant showing for the majority of the first half.

The second half started out slow, but didn’t disappoint with its first chance. Jason Gajadhar and Collin McCamy strung together a couple of surgical passes to open up Christopher Thaggard, who finished a great build-up for the Wildcats to extend the lead to 2-0. 

The goal came off of another turnover from Seger, similar to the goal conceded to Penn State two games before this one. 

“It’s inexcusable … it’s something Mikah took responsibility for but at the same time it just happened two games ago,” coach Sasho Cirovski said.

The Terps intensified their efforts in the following 20 minutes, peppering the box with a number of corners and crosses. But their lack of offensive execution continued to not produce results, having shot-after-shot miss as the pressure for their first goal mounted and frustration began to show.

Maryland yet again thought they had an opener off a corner in the 70th minute as Brian St. Martin was able to take a shot at point blank range falling away from the goal. But Weyman yet again swooped in for the save. 

Following a brief break with Northwestern possession, the Terps continued their assault on the Northwestern back line with the clock becoming their biggest enemy. 

Riley got Maryland’s best chance of the second half in the 82nd minute with a point-blank header. This just wasn’t his group’s day though, as the shot hit the frame of the goal for a third time of the night. 

The frustration crescendoed in the 86th when an exchange between Weyman and an injured St. Martin led to a fight breaking out between both sides — the bow on a game bound to cause pent up frustration for the Terps. Both Weyman and St. Martin received yellow cards. 

Outside of a couple more missed opportunities inside the box, that resulted in the game’s final bit of action, resulting in a winless September for Maryland.

The Terps will look to flush away the month when they face Rutgers on Oct. 3.