Midfielder Mikias Eticha assisted on midfielder Michael Sauers’ game-winning goal in the 86th minute of the Terps’ 2-1 win at California on Dec. 7, 2013 to clinch a spot in the College Cup
Sasho Cirovski uses a quote from Confucius to help the Terrapins men’s soccer team through tough times during the season: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.”
And Saturday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif., the Terps discovered the full extent of their coach’s proverb.
Midfielder Michael Sauers slotted his fifth goal of the season in the 86th minute against No. 4-seed California in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals to propel the No. 5-seed Terps to a 2-1 victory, avenging their Sept. 1 regular-season loss to the Golden Bears. The Terps advance to the College Cup for the second straight season and will take on No. 8-seed Virginia in a rematch of this year’s ACC championship game.
“It showed how much we’ve grown,” Cirovski said. “It was a matter of pride and principle. We don’t lose to too many teams twice, and we felt good that we had a chance to show that we’re a better team than they saw in September.”
The Terps struggled through some nerves to begin the contest, appearing indecisive and timid in their passing. However, they limited the Golden Bears’ possession and created a number of turnovers in the first 15 minutes with relentless on-ball pressure.
Forward Schillo Tshuma had open looks at goal in the ninth and 15th minutes, but Golden Bears goalkeeper Alex Mangels handily caught both shots.
Momentum shifted in the 19th minute, though, when Cal created its best chance of the first half. The Terps backline broke down on a Golden Bears counterattack, leaving forward Luis Fuentes in a one-on-one situation against Terps goalkeeper Zack Steffen. Fuentes’ finesse shot beat Steffen, but the ball hit both posts before defender Mikey Ambrose cleared it.
“We got a little lucky,” Cirovski said. “You have to catch a break in big moments at times, and we finally got one.”
The Golden Bears produced another three shots and two corner kicks over the next seven minutes before Cirovski went to his bench, replacing Sauers with midfielder Alex Shinsky in the 27th minute and midfielder Tsubasa Endoh with Sunny Jane in the 28th minute.
The substitutions paid off for the Terps. In the 33rd minute, Tshuma earned a free kick a couple of feet outside the left side of the 18-yard box. Ambrose moved up from his position at left back to take it, curling a cross to the far post that Shinsky — who has battled through a hamstring injury all season — headed into the back of the net for his first career goal.
“I know we have a great team,” Shinsky said. “And I just try and contribute any way I can.”
The Golden Bears responded just less than five minutes into the second half, though. Forward Stefano Bonomo took a point-blank shot that Steffen saved, but the forward recollected the ball and fired home the rebound to tie the game at one.
About 10 minutes later, Bonomo almost gave the Golden Bears the lead when he received a long throug ball behind the Terps backline. Bonomo carried the ball toward the goal before cutting around Steffen and shooting, but defender Suli Dainkeh was guarding the net and cleared the ball away.
The Golden Bears’ blown opportunities proved costly. And with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Sauers netted his second game-winning goal of the postseason, ripping a shot from 25 yards off a pass from midfielder Mikias Eticha.
“It was a worthy winner,” Cirovski said. “He hit it beautifully.”
With the victory, Cirovski and the Terps take one step closer to earning their first national championship since 2008.
And along the way, the once-inexperienced team has proved on a number of occasions, including Saturday at California, that the manner in which a season starts is often irrelevant to how it finishes.
“Just like this team has done all year long,” Cirovski said, “it’s shown its resiliency, its toughness and its ability to make big plays down the stretch.”
