CARY, N.C. – As the final horn blew to signal the Terrapin men's soccer team's 1-0 ACC Championship victory against top-seeded North Carolina, goalkeeper Zac MacMath immediately sprinted to a gathering of four players just yards away: his backline.
The group had just completed one of its best defensive games of the season, shutting down a determined North Carolina team playing with a man down for more than a half.
A red card in the 35th minute forced the Tar Heels to fight back from an early one-goal deficit and put the Terps on the defensive on numerous occasions. But each time North Carolina seemed to have broken through for an equalizer, another Terp stepped in the way.
After defender Taylor Kemp slipped to the ground and allowed penetration into the box, forward Jason Herrick ran in and booted the ball out of danger. After MacMath left his line in pursuit of a point-blank shot, defender Alex Lee saved the effort with his chest.
The tight-knit unit propelled the Terps (17-2-1) to their 13th straight victory and coach Sasho Cirovski's fourth ACC Championship.
"I have complete trust in my back four and even the guys beyond," MacMath said. "The trust between everyone and the confidence really brings us together."
"This is a team that has great chemistry and really plays with humility," Cirovski said. "We have some big names, but you wouldn't know it by how they played. ... That showed today. The ACC Championship is a huge deal."
The Terps started the game with immediate pressure on the attack, registering three shots on goal in the first 10 minutes. Their onslaught escalated in the 13th minute, when a shot hit the hand of North Carolina midfielder Enzo Martinez. Midfielder Matt Kassel won the subsequent battle with Tar Heel goalkeeper Scott Goodwin, scoring the penalty kick with a touch to the left side of the net.
"We wanted to come out and put them on their back heels and really press for that early goal," Herrick said.
The Terps' tally put early pressure on the Tar Heels (16-3-1), who responded with a more fluid attack and several chances. But the game took a decisive turn in the 34th minute, when North Carolina midfielder Michael Farfan slid dangerously with his cleats up into Terp midfielder John Stertzer.
As Stertzer writhed in pain on the ground, officials handed the Tar Heels' All-American a red card, stunning the team and its band of supporters at WakeMed Soccer Park. But the obvious on-field advantage had an unexpected effect on the game's proceedings.
"Once we made the penalty kick, I thought Carolina came out with more energy and, after the red card, even more energy, risk and aggressiveness," Cirovski said. "We naturally fell back a little bit and got into a protective mode. That wasn't all by design, but that's just the ebb and flow of the game."
The game translated into a second half full of North Carolina chances. And while the Tar Heels didn't score a goal, the Terps never registered a shot either.
"I don't remember a half where we haven't taken a shot," Cirovski said. "That may be a first in our program, so you have to give Carolina a lot of credit."
The Tar Heels had excellent opportunities at the net, including a shot by North Carolina forward Martin Murphy from in close. Beating the defense on the right side and drawing MacMath off his line, Murphy dribbled to the left and fired the would-be game-tying goal.
But Lee, positioned on the goal line, blocked the shot with his chest, and the Terps cleared the ball out of danger.
"The team as a whole knows that defense wins championships," MacMath said. "That's definitely what won it for us today and hopefully will win it for us a couple weeks down the road."
Said Cirovski bluntly: "We're on a mission."
TERP NOTE: MacMath won the tournament's Most Valuable Player award, while Herrick, Townsend and Kassel were named to the All-Tournament team.
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