Maryland Men's Soccer: Terps top Hartwick 5-2

A few weeks ago Maryland had their backs against the wall, and in a perilous position after a up and down start. Since then they've reeled off 5 straight wins, including a few crucial Big Ten wins. Now it was important to keep the focus and not trip up in a game they should win comfortably.

First Half

The first 15 minutes of the first half passed without much incident with neither side creating many chances. Sasha Cirovski made a few changes to try to liven up Maryland's play, with his first change being David Kabelik, a familiar change from the coach. With 20 minutes or so to go in the half Maryland started to pick it up with a shot from Campbell going wide and a header from Mael Corboz sailing just high.

Corboz would be the one to break the deadlock however, finishing into the roof of the net from about ten yards out to put the Terps up 1-0. It was his 7th goal of the year, and him making an impact has fast become a familiar sight for Maryland fans. Just a few minutes later the Terrapins doubled the lead, with Kabelik swiveling and scoring from just outside the box. After a slow start Maryland was doing exactly what was necessary, comfortably winning and dominating.

After a dominant final 20 minutes, Maryland was up 2-0 at HT.

Second Half

Maryland's dominance continued over to the second half, with the Terps repeatedly forcing saves out of Hartwick keeper Tom Buckner. In the span of 3 minutes in the first quarter of an hour of the half, Dan Metzger had a header saved and two efforts from Mikias Eticha and Corboz were saved. Maryland made two subs in the 61st minute, bringing on Jake Areman and David Kabelik.

The former set up Maryland's 3rd, playing a great ball into the feet of Tsubasa Endoh who finished well to put the Terps up 3-0. After getting the 3rd goal however, Maryland took their foot off the gas and let Hartwick back in the game. A breakdown in defense gave Marc Berry a chance which he took, making it 3-1. Just 10 minutes later Ross MacKinnon of Hartwick finished superbly directly from a free kick to make it 3-2 and set up a nervy finish.

David Kabelik eased those nerves a couple minutes after Hartwick's 2nd, notching a brace for himself and sealing the Maryland win. In the final minute Maryland earned a penalty which Dan Metzger dispatched, making the final score 5-2.

Final: Maryland 5-2 Hartwick

While the two goals were less than ideal, the Maryland attack is well and truly clicking, and that's now 6 wins in a row. The Terps improve to 9-5-2 on the year and are at home in their Big Ten and regular season finale, welcoming Ohio State. That's Saturday night at 7 PM.

ED NOTE: Saturday is the home regular season finale. The Terps end their regular season at Rutgers November 5.