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Just four months after leading Maryland soccer’s defense to a national championship, Donovan Pines made his MLS debut for DC United on Saturday night.
The homegrown 6’5 defender turned in an impressive performance in United’s 3-2 win over the Colorado Rapids. He was tasked with marking Colorado’s Kei Kamera, the fifth-highest scorer in league history, and helped kept him off the scoreboard. Pines was accurate on 90 percent of his attempted passes, recorded six headed clearances and registered this assist to Luciano Acosta.
THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG!
— Maryland Soccer (@MarylandMSoccer) April 14, 2019
Donny P gets his first career assist. Just keep him in the lineup, @dcunited. #ProTerps https://t.co/GEJby0VzJm
According to the Audi Player Index, Pines was the fourth-best player on the pitch during the match, tallying 625 points. (Here’s an overview of where those points come from; for simple reference, United star Wayne Rooney had just 246 on the night.)
Pines started the season at lower-level Loudoun United, but an early-season slew of injuries on the back line forced him into the D.C. starting lineup, and his performance Saturday showed he’s ready to step into a more regular role. United (4-1-2) hosts New York City FC on Easter Sunday.
In other news
Maryland men’s lacrosse fell five goals down to Rutgers last night, but roared back for a 16-13 win.
Baseball took two out of three in a high-scoring series at Northwestern, winning Friday and splitting a doubleheader Saturday.
Softball grabbed a win against Indiana, but the Hoosiers won the series and outscored the Terps 21-5.
Tennis’ brutal season continued with home losses to Michigan State and Michigan.
In better news, Maryland football has the second commitment in its 2020 recruiting class, as the Terps landed a pledge from local three-star receiver Corey Dyches.
Track and field saw another school record fall during a busy weekend.
Women’s golf finished third at the 12-team Lady Buckeye Invitational, with sophomore Virunpat Olankitkunchai placing second among 74 individuals
And if you’re anything like me and couldn’t take your eyes off Tiger Woods at the Masters yesterday, my two favorite pieces (so far) about his crazy-in-so-many-ways victory come from CBS Sports’ Kyle Porter and The Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell.