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Maryland men’s soccer forward Brayan Padilla will miss the remainder of the 2019 season with a torn left ACL, a team spokesman confirmed Wednesday morning. The sophomore suffered the injury during warmups prior to Maryland’s game against Rutgers on Oct. 2.
Padilla is the latest hit to what feels like an endless string of injuries for this Maryland club, joining senior forward Paul Bin as the second Terp to tear his ACL in 2019. He also becomes one of five players to have missed time due to injury, with midfielders Eli Crognale and Will Hervé and forwards Luke Brown and Bin each missing at least two games to injury. Hervé isn’t officially lost for the season just yet, but has only appeared in two matches in 2019 and is still rehabbing his way back to the pitch.
Padilla was an emerging goal scorer for head coach Sasho Cirovski’s club, taking advantage of the void left at forward due to such injuries. He’ll now deal with rehab for a second consecutive season after being forced to miss nine games in 2018 with a stress fracture in his right foot.
The sophomore was just beginning to come into his own, starting seven of Maryland’s first eight matches while registering the second-most shots on the team with 23. He was also one of Maryland’s leading goal scorers, currently tied for second-most on the team with two for the 2019 campaign.
Padilla scored his first career goal with the Terps last month, knocking in a free kick from over 20 yards against UCLA on Sept. 6. His second career goal was just as dazzling, coming off a rocket from the left foot against Northwestern on Sept. 20.
The injury comes following one of Padilla’s best games of the season against Wisconsin on Sept. 27 in which he set career-highs with six shots and four shots on goal.
The blow leaves Cirovski with five healthy forwards to choose from, only three of whom — junior Eric Matzelevich, sophomore Justin Gielen and senior Fola Adetola — have seen any action this season. The No. 25 Terps’ next test comes Friday at Michigan State.