Women's soccer clinches ACC Tournament berth, then wins anyway

With time winding down in last night's game and the Terrapins women's soccer team trailing 1-0, forward Hayley Brock gained possession of the ball 20 yards from North Carolina's goal, skirted past three defenders and put the ball in the bottom right corner, past a diving Anna Sieloff into the North Carolina goal.

But as the No. 16 Terps pulled even with the No. 11 Tar Heels, another scene was unfolding 130 miles away in Charlottesville, Va.; No. 9 Virginia had scored two goals in the final 11 minutes of play to beat Miami, 2-0, guaranteeing the Terps' place in the ACC Tournament.

Terps coach Brian Pensky knew this. His team didn't. And he kept it that way as they prepared for overtime, not wanting to back into the postseason on a three-game losing streak.

Seven minutes later, midfielder Becky Kaplan took a pass from forward Sade Ayinde on the left side and put a shot by Sieloff, tucking it inside the far post to give the Terps (10-4-4, 4-4-2, ACC) not only a 2-1 senior night win but also the No. 7 seed in the ACC Tournament.

"First reaction was, ‘Thank God I didn't hit the post,'" Kaplan said. "It looked like it was going to hit the post and then go out, and so I was just really relieved it went in. Then, I was really excited. Senior night's the best gift to give the seniors and just a great way to end the regular season."

Eleven Terps were honored before the game for their contributions to a team that went from an ACC also-ran to one of the top programs in the country during their time in College Park.

The seniors knew they might not ever take the field again in their collegiate careers unless they did what they needed to last night. Now, after officially extending their season, the Terps will play at Virginia on Sunday in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

"This game was huge for our confidence, for our team, for our whole aura," said forward Ashley Grove, a senior. "It was huge. We couldn't have asked for a better result. There's no better feeling than winning on senior night, no less beating UNC in overtime, so climactic like that. Beautiful, beautiful crowd. It was an awesome moment."

And while relief and joy washed over the Terps after Kaplan's golden goal, the result was in doubt for the majority of the game.

North Carolina (11-4-1, 6-3-1) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute after midfielder Amber Brooks served a ball in to forward Courtney Jones on a free kick. Jones headed the ball past Terps goalkeeper Yewande Balogun, who dived and had the ball squirt out of her hands and across the goal line.

From there, the Tar Heels didn't slow down, outshooting the Terps 11-4 in the first and 18-13 for the game. Balogun, however, made seven saves and denied North Carolina any chance of extending its lead.

"I know we're a good team," Pensky said after the Terps secured their second victory in program history against the Tar Heels. "We've been saying it all season long. But it's tough as a coach and as a leader to continue to say, ‘Come on, we just have to believe. Come on, it's going to come. Come on. Believe. Just keep fighting through it.' You need to hang your hat on a result. You need to see something tangible."

Pensky said that going forward, his team needs to stay grounded in order to avoid a result such as last Sunday's 3-1 loss at Duke, where the Terps were dominated in the second half and didn't record a shot in the final 45 minutes. The Terps lost, 4-1, at the Cavaliers on Sept. 15, a result Grove said has stayed with the team the entire season.

"I can speak for the whole team when I say we're super excited," Grove said. "We know Virginia wasn't us. Who showed up that game, I don't know. We're super excited to play that game. We have momentum back. We have confidence back. We have everything and I'm ecstatic to play Virginia."

dgallen@umdbk.com