Forward Eryk Williamson kicks down the flag as he celebrates the game winning goal during the Terps’ 1-0 victory the Virginia Cavaliers in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Ludwig Field on Nov. 22, 2015.
When he saw Terrapins men’s soccer defender Chris Odoi-Atsem unload a cross from the right side Sunday night against Virginia, forward Eryk Williamson began sprinting from the penalty spot towards goal.
Williamson slipped between two defenders and into the goal box as the ball fell to the grass. But he couldn’t connect. The ball bounced through the box and out of play, and the Terps and Cavaliers remained scoreless 18 minutes into the match.
He didn’t blow his next chance. Twenty minutes later, he finished a free kick from midfielder Mael Corboz to propel the No. 10-seed Terps to a 1-0 win before an announced 2,737 at Ludwig Field in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
“They’ve been pushing me all year to score, and it’s finally coming about,” said Williamson, who scored his fifth goal in as many games. “It’s just looking for the loose balls.”
Williamson’s strike capped a dominating performance for the Terps, who held a 23-8 shot advantage and only allowed Virginia to create chances on counter attacks. The win means coach Sasho Cirovski’s team will challenge No. 7-seed Notre Dame next Sunday in the third round on the road.
“We’re playing some of our best soccer right now,” Cirovski said. “In five of the last six games, we’ve been just fantastic — no other way to say it. We’ve been really good and fun to watch. The team has come together just the way I thought it would.”
The Terps had seven days off after their win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship, and Corboz said his team arguably had its best week of training in the week leading up to Sunday’s matchup. The results in practice carried over to their performance, as the Terps easily disposed of a top-20 squad and last year’s national champion.
“The guys have been buzzing over the past two weeks,” Corboz said. “Everything’s positive and everything’s super energized, and I think it shows on the field.”
Defender Alex Crognale would have put the Cavaliers in a hole five minutes into the contest if it weren’t for Cavalier goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell’s quick reflexes in net. Crognale’s header, which came off a free kick from Corboz, flew toward the top of the net, but Caldwell got a hand on the ball to knock it over the top crossbar.
The Terps continued to pressure the Cavaliers’ back line, with their aggressiveness in the attacking third allowing Williamson to break through right before the half.
After struggling to get out to fast starts throughout the season, the Terps have opened the scoring with a first-half goal in each of the past five matches. Plus, Cirovski’s team will enter its contest with the Fighting Irish on a five-game winning streak.
“We’re pushing, we’re not sitting trying to absorb or keep it tied at half or whatever,” Cirovski said. “And that’s more like Maryland soccer — to come in and punch you in the mouth — and that’s kind of what we want to do with our play.”
Despite holding a one-goal advantage at intermission, Cirovski said he urged his team to keep bringing the pressure in second half. So in the final 45 minutes, they launched 14 shots, five more than they had in the opening period.
None of these looks resulted in an insurance goal, as the Terps clung to the 1-0 lead until the clock hit zero.
It didn’t matter, though. All it took was one strike.
“I kind of saw it the whole way and knew that there was not really a chance for it to go on goal,” Williamson said. “So I just stayed with the play, and once it came loose, I just tapped it in.”
