No. 4 Maryland 3, St. John’s 0
There was hardly a Maryland player that couldn’t be satisfied.
In a convincing 3-0 triumph over St. John’s in the finale of Friday’s ACC/Big Challenge doubleheader at Maryland SoccerPlex, the Terrapins spread the wealth on offense and got just the saves they required in front of the net, even if with seven new starters, it took 45 minutes to shake off the opening-night jitters. But once the first goal came just over five minutes after halftime, Maryland might nearly have been mistaken for a team in midseason form.
“The first half, everybody was on pins and needles,” goalkeeper Will Swaim said after his first victory in two years. “We were just trying to get that first half underneath our belts. In the second half, we were just feeling it.”
Showing the kind of power that the Terrapins (1-0) hope to see from in a shift from midfield to forward, sophomore Patrick Mullins took a feed from Kaoru Forbess and unleashed low 30-yard blast that took a slight deflection and richoted through the arms of Red Storm goalkeeper Rafael Diaz for Maryland’s first goal of the year in the 51st minute.
It only five minutes to double the lead after skillful work in the corner by Sunny Jane, whose cross snuck its way through the box to John Stertzer (Flint Hill) for an authoritative finish from the top of the box.
Swaim, a senior has spent much of his career as a backup, then made the second in a pair of veteran saves that were crucial to the shutout, getting an arm down to deny St. John’s forward Jack Bennett, who’d snuck through the right side of the Maryland back line to get himself a one-on-one chance.
In the first half, Swaim tipped over a bouncing header by Walter Hines that would’ve given the Red Storm (0-1) a just reward for its nifty passing around the box. But over 90 minutes, Maryland was superior both athletically and in possession.
“We don’t have somewhat of the physical presence as we need to have,” Red Storm head coach Dr. Dave Masur said. “So we have to count on our ability to be busy, technical, sharp, and we played pretty good football. But at the same time, it’s got to be continual.”
Casey Townsend completed the scoring in the 77th minutes, the senior forward nodding home freshman Alex Shinsky’s corner kick.
“It’s always good for more than one person to score because that just gains everyone’s confidence,” Townsend said. “We needed one to get the momentum going because in the first half, we were a little bit stagnant.”
Due to Hurricane Irene, Maryland’s second match of the season, against fellow victor on Friday, West Virginia, was moved back to Monday at 7 p.m. in College Park.
