It isn?t tough to defeat the University of Maryland men?s soccer team in College Park in the postseason ? it?s nearly impossible. Since 1995, the Terrapins have gone 121-30-10 at Ludwig Field, winning 11 NCAA Tournament games in the past six years, during which they?ve made the Final Four four times in five years.
But for No. 19 and 13th-seeded Maryland to take its next step toward its second national title in three years, the Terrapins must overcome Loyola, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament champion that have exceeded expectations all season.
“It?s been a remarkable season because playing 22 games, and now 19 wins, a lot of things have to go well,” Loyola coach Mark Mettrick said. “The ups and downs of a season, and [our 2-0 win over Liberty in the first round] was just another.”
For Maryland (10-5-4) to be successful against visiting Loyola (19-3) today at 5 p.m., the Terrapins must crack a tough defense that has posted an NCAA-leading 16 shutouts. The Greyhounds downed Big South Conference champion Liberty, 2-0, in Baltimore on Saturday to advance to play the Terrapins, who earned a first-round bye.
The Terrapins leadthe all-time series against Loyola, 25-8-6, including a physical, 1-0 win last year in which the Greyhounds received eight yellow cards. But Loyola defeated Maryland, 1-0, in double overtime at College Park in 2001 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the school?s deepest run since reaching the Elite Eight in 1987.
“We?ve played each other on a consistent basis throughout my career and played some good game and it will be a good local matchup,” said Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski, whose team is the only school in the country to be seeded in the tournament each of the past six seasons. “We are a hardened team. We had some departures to the pros last year and a few kids lost for the season over the summer, so we have been fairly thin and played probably the toughest schedule in the country.”
Loyola at Maryland
» RECORDS: Loyola: 19-3; Maryland: 10-5-4.
» KICKOFF: Today, 5 p.m.
» WHERE: Ludwig Field, College Park
» TO THE WINNER: A berth in the Sweet 16 against the winner of Indiana (13-4-4) and Bradley (14-5-3).
» DIRECTIONS: Take I-95 South towards Washington. Take Exit 27 toward Silver Spring/Bethesda. Take the Exit on the left toward US-1/College Park. Merge onto I-495 East Capital Beltway. Take Exit 25B toward Baltimore Ave. US-1/College Park. Take a slight right onto Baltimore Ave. US-1, and the school is on the right.
