Entering the final five minutes of the match, both sides desperately searched for a strong possession, an opportunity to take the advantage. Following an action-packed second half that saw three goals scored in a 14 minute span, suddenly neither team could find one more to walk away with the win.
The match ended in a 2-2 draw, marking Maryland’s second straight tie and extended its unbeaten streak to nine.
Following a 1-1 tie at Northwestern, No. 7 Maryland men’s soccer returned to Ludwig Field to host Wisconsin Friday night.
Maryland saw an early chance to get on the scoreboard after defender William Kulvik sent a pass across the field to forward Joshua Bolma. Bolma took the pass before sending a cross to forward Stefan Copetti, but Copetti’s shot was blocked before the net, keeping the match scoreless.
Shortly after, the Badgers earned a corner kick they took advantage of. Defender Aron Saevarsson sent the pass towards the net, where defender Drew Brown took the ball and knocked it straight in to give Wisconsin an early 1-0 lead.
Copetti, who scored the lone goal for the Terps against Northwestern, saw four fantastic opportunities to score in the first 20 minutes of action, but could not make any of them count. Two of his shots were saved by Wisconsin goalkeeper Carter Abbott, while two were blocked by the Badgers’ backline.
The good news, however, was that Maryland created many more chances to begin this match than it did against Northwestern, seeing some real opportunities to score in the first half of play.
“I thought we might have been the sharpest we’ve been all year on the attack,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “We created more chances to score tonight than I think in any game this year, besides maybe the Virginia game.”
In the 37th minute, Bolma placed a beautiful pass directly in front of forward German Giammattei, located in front of the net. Abbott stepped out of the six-yard box just in time to meet Giammattei and make yet another tough save, keeping Wisconsin in the lead 1-0.
Abbott, Wisconsin’s star goalkeeper who had 26 saves entering the match, made another eight against the Terps in a marvelous performance. Abbot’s goals against average currently sits below one per game.
Maryland came out in attack mode to start the second half, and it paid off early. After forcing a turnover in the 48th minute, defender Alex Nitzl sent a pass to Bolma, who redirected the ball to Copetti. Copetti, ready to take his fifth shot attempt of the night, took a touch and shot a rocket off his right foot that sailed up and through the back of the net.
“I got the start today, so obviously I had something to prove,” Copetti said. “But I’m just doing my job as a striker, creating chances, getting in good areas, and I got a goal. Thought I should’ve had more [goals], but you move on.”
Wisconsin wasted no time responding, quickly retaking the lead in the 56th minute. After recording an assist in the 12th minute, Saevarsson found the back of the net himself, putting Wisconsin back up, 2-1.
The second half brought about no shortage of offensive action, as Maryland put up six shots in the first 18 minutes. Following Saevarsson’s response, the Terps looked to quickly even the score once again, and they did.
In the 61st minute, Bolma scored on a perfectly placed shot from just inside the box. It was a frustrating goal allowed by Wisconsin, as midfielder Inaki Iribarren inadvertently blocked Abbott’s vision, and by the time Bolma’s shot came into view, it was too late to make a play.
“I’m definitely building a lot of confidence,” Bolma said. “Obviously I’m glad, I need to be scoring goals and helping the team move forward. So this was just a boost for me.”
With the score knotted up once again at two, both sides turned their focus to finding one more goal. However, fatigue began to set in for both sides after a highly active start to the second half.
No strong opportunities came for either side until the final minute, when forward Griffin Dillon nearly scored a game winner. Bolma hurriedly sent a corner kick towards the goal, and Dillon kicked it towards the bottom right corner of the net, to the right of Abbott. However, midfielder Tim Bielec was in perfect position, letting the ball deflect off his chest and bounce out of the goal.
The match ended in dramatic fashion although neither side could find the advantage in the final few moments.
“I was very proud of the effort,” Cirovski said. “I thought we were crisp, I thought we were sharp. I thought we worked hard. We did everything you can do except for minimizing the other team’s goals.”
Maryland moved to 7-1-4 on the year while Wisconsin moved to 4-5-3.
The Terps are back in action on Monday night when they host High Point at 7 p.m.
