No. 4 Maryland men’s soccer survives North Carolina in penalty kicks, 4-3

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Athletics

After falling to UCLA in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament, Maryland was handed its first loss of the 2025 season. 

Rather than dwelling on this unexpected outcome, No. 4 Maryland was able to come back to Ludwig Field Sunday afternoon and take care of business in the NCAA Tournament, winning against unranked North Carolina in penalty kicks, 4-3, after finishing regulation tied 1-1.

The scoring didn’t start until the end of the first half, even though Maryland took a total of five shots and North Carolina took one. Maryland’s Rocket Ritarita blasted a shot from above the box and scored off an assist from Sadam Maseraka and Jace Clark in the 43rd minute of the game. 

But the Terps’ lead didn’t last long. Just over 10 minutes later, Tar Heels forward/midfielder Nacho Abeal evened the match, and was assisted by forward Bertil Rygaard Hansen and midfielder Gabriel Bracken Serra. 

Both teams went silent for the rest of the 36 minutes of the second half. 

Ending the match in a 1-1 tie, the game continued to two 10-minute overtime periods, then penalty kicks if neither team was able to take a lead. 

A series of fouls, free kicks and a yellow card awarded to North Carolina’s Andrew Czech for unsporting behavior in the two overtime periods advanced the match to penalty kicks. 

As both teams prepared for the shootout, the student section ran to the far side of the field where all shots were set to be taken. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Laurin Mack went in goal for Maryland, and Andrew Cordes manned the net for North Carolina. 

North Carolina shot first, scoring the first goal of the penalty kicks round. Maryland was unable to respond, allowing North Carolina to take the 1-0 lead, its first of the game.

In the following six shots, Maryland made all three and North Carolina only made one, passing over the lead to Maryland, 3-2.

Both teams were given one more shot to take. North Carolina’s Ryan Berger aimed for the bottom left corner of the goal, not leaving Mack enough time to prevent it from going in. 

The teams were now tied again, 3-3, leaving one more shot for Maryland.

Mack was named the final shooter and stepped up to the line facing Cordes, the goal and a student section full of fans hungry for a win.

“Mack is one of the best strikers on the whole team. He wanted the responsibility of the final shot. The team felt confident and wanted him to have it,” coach Sasho Cirovski said.

He fired the ball to the bottom left corner of the goal past Cordes, the same situation he found himself in just minutes ago, allowing the tie to continue. This time, Maryland took the lead 4-3, and secured the win after a three-hour-long game.

“Making the saves boosted my confidence a little bit, but it wouldn’t have changed anything if I hadn’t saved anything before my shot,” Mack said.

The physically aggressive game ended in a total of six yellow cards and nine shots from both teams, excluding penalty kicks.

Maryland is set to face No. 13 UConn in the third round of the tournament Saturday, again at Ludwig Field.