Men’s soccer's loss was tale of two halves

On one of the final plays of the first half in Saturday's NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, Terrapin men's soccer defender Greg Young went down with a high-ankle sprain that changed the complexion of the Terps' game and, ultimately, their season.

The play forced the redshirt senior out of action for the remainder of the double-overtime match, and as a season-ending 3-2 loss unfolded before Young's eyes, he could do little else but stand on crutches and watch the Terps repeatedly break down defensively.

The injury forced coach Sasho Cirovski to tinker with a lineup that seemed entrenched at the start of the tournament. Midfielder Billy Cortes, who had played right back at the end of the regular season and in the ACC Tournament, again moved to the backline.

But after Michigan's Jeff Quijano evened the score at 1-1 in the 50th minute, Cirovski turned to former starter London Woodberry, who had not seen playing time since Oct. 19 due to an injury.

Before long, the defensive instability had undermined the Terps' hopes of containing a potent Wolverine offense. The three goals the Terps surrendered exceeded the number yielded in the past 10 games combined and were also the second-most the team had allowed all season.

"It took us out of our rhythm in the midfield," Cirovski said of the injury. "But their goals didn't come because of that, at least the first two goals. Greg's been a great story for us this year. I don't think we can put blame on anyone individually."

The Terp defense, which had allowed just four goals since Sept. 24, wasn't the only second-half problem. After forward Casey Townsend scored the game's opening goal in the 17th minute, the Terps' shooting efficiency severely dropped.

In the second half, the Terps converted just one of their 16 shots. The Wolverines, meanwhile, scored twice on seven shots.

"If we would have done our job with our finishing chances, this game would have never gotten to that point," Cirovski said. "In the first half, I think they felt good being down only one."

The Terps cruised through the regular season with an unrivaled flair for scoring, leading the nation in goals per game. They scored a season-high seven goals on 15 shots at Virginia Tech on Oct. 8, while scoring five goals on 16 shots against Coastal Carolina on Nov. 5.

Before the team's Sweet 16 match against Penn State on Nov. 28, the Terps had put nearly half their shots on goal and scored on about 20 percent of their total shots.

But after managing to put just one of 21 shots on goal against the Nittany Lions, the team improved only marginally against the Wolverines on Saturday, placing only nine of a season-high 33 on goal.

"We had so many chances," Cirovski said. "I think I remember seven pretty clear, good chances. You have to credit their goalkeeper, he made some pretty good saves. Good fortune was on their side today."

The Terps put just three of their final 20 shots on frame, converting on one of those chances. With an offense struggling to find the net and a defense trying to make up for a missing piece, the Terps became disjointed in the final game of the season.

"They put out a great effort and they put out an effort that's indicative of our program," Cirovski said. "I think all games provide lessons, and this one certainly does. The details and the importance of every play, whether it's making the right run or hitting the ball down — we've been on the right side of 99.9 percent of those this year."

ceckard@umdbk.com