Maryland men's soccer falls to Clemson in penalty kicks to end season

Maryland men's soccer had its season come to an end in disappointing fashion Friday night, as the 10th-seeded Terps fell in penalties to 2-seed Clemson in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

The Terps' six-game winning streak was finished when Clemson's Thales Moreno knocked the final penalty kick past Maryland goalkeeper Cody Niedermeier to give the Tigers a walk-off win. Mael Corboz made the Terps' first penalty kick before Alex Crognale, Tsubasa Endoh and Emmanuel Korvah were unable to get the ball in the net.

Maryland finishes the season at 12-5-6, while Clemson advances to the Final Four in Kansas City.

Maryland was in control for much of the game, but the Terps' lack of scoring chances punished them 58 minutes into the game. After a neat interchanging of passes on the edge of the box, Clemson's Oliver Shannon slipped the ball through to Moreno, who tucked it past a diving Cody Neidermeier to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

Maryland took the game's next six shots, but came up empty before Crognale finally broke through to tie it up. The defender rose high following a looping corner from Jorge Calix and powered a header past Clemson goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell, who got fingertips to it but couldn't keep the ball from heading into the roof of the net. The senior's last goal as a Terp made it 1-1 in the 73rd minute.

Just over a minute into the second period of overtime, Amar Sejdic picked up his second yellow card of the night, which led to him being sent off and forced Maryland to play a man down for the rest of overtime.

Maryland mostly dominated the game territorially in the opening 15 minutes, with Clemson hardly getting a foothold on the match. With 14 minutes gone, the first big opportunity of the game went to the Terps, as Tsubasa Endoh picked the ball off a Clemson defender and was through on goal, but had his shot saved by Tarbell.

Maryland had quite a scare near the end of regulation when goalkeeper Cody Niedermeier went out to claim a loose ball, leaving the net unattended. Clemson got two shots on goal before Niedermeier could get back, but Crognale and Cody Albrecht each made saves to keep the game knotted at one.

Clemson mostly took the initiative in extra time, though Maryland also had a few looks on the counter attacks and with set pieces. With both sides very cautious not to make the mistake that would end their seasons, it was mostly devoid of any big chances. Maryland had one big opportunity with one minute left in the first period of overtime, when Mael Corboz dragged a shot wide after broke free behind the Clemson defense. It was emblematic of Maryland's night.

In the end, a strong tournament run for the Terps ended in the quarterfinals.