The Maryland men's soccer team accompanied by 20 or so members of The Crew traveled to Chapel Hill to take on the second ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in an ACC match up.
Carolina was the first to threaten in the eighth minute getting a great look from about 10 yards after eluding a Terrapin defender but freshman goalkeeper Zack Steffen made the big save. In the eleventh minute Helge Leikvang was fouled in the midfield. Maryland played the free kick out wide and Patrick Mullins flicked a header to Tsubasa Endoh. Endoh followed with a quick pass to Schillo Tshuma who centered the ball to Dan Metzger. As Metzger tangled with a Tar Heel defender Tshuma circled behind, picked up the loose ball and drove a shot high into the right corner to give Maryland an early 1-0 lead. The lead lasted less than three minutes as a rough tackle in the box by Dan Metzger gave UNC a penalty kick and the score was tied. Seven minutes later, in a pattern that has become dismayingly familiar to Terrapin fans early in the 2013 campaign, Omar Holness took a ball in Maryland's offensive zone and charged sixty yards straight up the spine through a Terrapin defense that never organized and flicked a left footed ground ball into the right corner to give UNC a 2-1 lead.
In the twenty third minute it looked as though the Terps might earn a penalty kick of their own as Tshuma appeared to have been pulled down by his jersey from behind but the referee waved it off and the teams played on. Each team had chances over the next few minutes but neither could break through until the thirty-seventh minute, that is. Tshuma took a pass from Endoh near the top of the box, turned quickly and left footed the shot inside the right post past a surprised UNC keeper tying the score at two where it would remain until halftime.
The second half took on a much more defensive tone. A diagonal run by UNC in the fiftieth minute developed a chance that Steffen easily controlled. From this pint, Maryland was clearly the aggressor. After a Carolina foul just outside the eighteen, Endoh drove a shot high. Dakota Edwards got off back to back shots in the fifty-ninth minute but strong goaltending kept the score tied. A Terrapin corner in the sixty-sixth minute led to a Mullins header that was blocked. The Terps had a tremendous flurry in the last minute of regulation off a throw in by Mikey Ambrose led to a shot by Dan Metzger and a possible hand ball off a shot by Sunny Jane but the half ended as it began tied at two.
Each team had a chance or two in the first overtime with Maryland's best chance coming in the ninety-third minute on an Ambrose free kick into the box but Mullins' header went just wide. UNC had a free kick about a minute later but it soared high. In the second overtime, the Tar Heels had a strong attack in the 106th minute Alex Crognale knocked it away for a Carolina corner. UNC played a short corner and the Terps cleared. Maryland had a great chance in the 107th minute as Jake Pace drove into the right side of the box, created some space for himself and drilled a shot that Carolina's keeper deflected high with his top hand. Neither team threatened again and the Terps left Chapel Hill with a 2-2 tie. The Terps continue their final road trip through the ACC with a match in Clemson on Saturday September twenty-first.
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The atmosphere in the Comcast Center Pavilion for Maryland's volleyball match against New Hampshire was electric Friday night thanks to a hot start by the 5-1 Terrapins, the Maryland Mob and the presence of the Maryland Pep Band thanks to senior AD Lori Ebihara who's working to create one of the most exciting athletic environments on campus.
The Terps, with Kelsey Hrebenach getting the start and seeing her first action of the season, opened with the serve but, after a long rally, the visiting Wildcats won a sideout and tool the next two points to roll out to an early 3-0 lead. Maryland came slowly back and with score standing at 5-6 Mary Cushman stepped up to one of her few serving opportunities of the night. Using a short floater serve she led the Terps to three straight points and Maryland had their first lead of the night at 8-6. With the score tied at nine a dynamic dig by Cushman led to a poor set by New Hampshire gave the Terrapins a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Pre-season All ACC middle blocker Adreene Elliott made her first appearance of the match and notched a kill on her first swing putting the Terps up 11-9. Maryland began to take firm control of the set leading 16-12 as Sarah Harper took the serve and stretched the lead to 18-12 with an ace. After a great dig by Harper saved a point and allowed the Terps to go up 19-13, Amy Dion, using the same long floater as Harper, won two more points before a UNH sideout. Serving specialist Dani Bozzini took the Terps to set point and a kill by Crutcher, who finished the set with four kills and six digs, closed out the set at 25-15.
The second set began similarly to the first with the Wildcats running out to an early lead at 3-1. An Amy Dion ace put the Terps up by on at 5-4 but UNH responded with a 7-3 run to take a three point lead. A kill by Hrebenach earned the sideout for Maryland and gave the serve to Crutcher. Varying the pace of the earlier floaters that had been so effective for Dion and Harper, the junior outside hitter unleashed a barrage of powerful well-placed jump serves that befuddled the Wildcats and brought the crowd to its feet. Coach Horsmon likened the different serving styles to a pitcher in baseball, "If you throw the fastball every single count, you're gonna get hit. If you throw the curve ball and they're sitting on it, they can figure that out. But when they see a lot of different types of serves I think it's a little harder to get settled." The seven point run that included two aces gave the Terps a comfortable 16-11 lead. They cruised through the set closing it out by a 25-19 final.
Although UNH again scored the first point to open the third set, Maryland came back quickly with three straight, again behind strong serving from Crutcher to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish. After a sideout kill by Elliott, Amy Dion swithching up to the long floater, helped the Terps run off five straight points to take a commanding 10-3 lead. The Wildcats clawed their way back into the set to close to 13-10 behind three consecutive service aces The lead varied between two and three points through the middle of the set but with Maryland up 20-17, it was Crutcher time. The junior continued her hot serving with two aces in a stretch of four points that brought the Terrapins to match point. The Wildcats held off two points but a kill by freshman Alex Brown ended match at 25-19. The Terps will take on George Mason at 1:30 Saturday afternoon and Villanova at 7:30 later in the evening.