MEN'S SOCCER: Irish fall to Terps in first round of NCAAs
By BRYAN KRONK
Sports Writer
COLLEGE PARK, Md.
Cinderella's glass slipper was shattered on Friday night, as the Maryland Terrapins defeated the Irish men's soccer team 1-0 in a heartbreaker in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Men's College Cup.
"For those who don't know what it's all about, that was a really good game tonight," head coach Bobby Clark said after the game. "That's what the NCAA championships are all about."
The lone goal of the game came with just 1:41 left in the second half, when Terrapin Ellis Welker managed to penetrate the Irish defense and get the ball to midfielder Scott Buete. Buete controlled the pass and blasted a shot from five yards away that found its way past Irish goalie Chris Sawyer and went into the top right corner of the net.
"I saw [the ball] come out, and Ellis hit it back in. It looked like the defense got stunned and they all got caught watching," Buete said. "Luckily it just got through, so I just put my head down and chugged it in."
The goal broke the momentum that the Irish seemed to be carrying into overtime. Maryland dominated the offensive side of the game for much of the first half, but was unable to convert.
The lone substantial offensive threat for the Irish in the first half came with 7:25 left, as substitute Luke Boughen blasted a shot from about 30 yards away. The shot squarely struck the top left corner of the goalpost, and a Terrapin defender was able to clear the ball away.
"In the first half, we had to fight very hard to get into that game," Clark said. "Give Maryland a little credit for that because they made it very difficult for us to play early on."
The Irish seemed to shake off the cobwebs about midway through the second half. Kevin Goldthwaite took a free kick which found midfielder Justin Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe's ensuing shot was deflected out of bounds just shy of the goal.
With 20 minutes left in the second half, a hard shot by Irish midfielder Justin Detter was just barely saved by Maryland goalie Noah Palmer.
On the following run by Maryland, forward Robert Sjolund took Palmer's clearing kick and charged towards the goal with a prime opportunity. However, his shot was knocked out by Sawyer. The rebound by Jason Arnold was also controlled by Sawyer.
Just as the game seemed to head into overtime, Maryland threatened off a corner kick on the near side of the field with just under two minutes to go in the game. The Notre Dame defense, which had held firm for the entire game, was able to clear the soaring cross, but Welker passed the ball to Buete, whose shot was the only one of the game to find the back of the net.
"You know, it's funny, I thought they scored right when we were getting back into it the most," Clark said. "But that's soccer."
The Irish, still in shock from the late score, mustered all the offense that it could in the final minute, but could not get the equalizer before the final whistle.
"It was a game that easily could have gone either way; luckily we came out on top," said Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski. "The game had everything you would want in an NCAA tournament game."
The Terrapins outshot the Irish, 9-6, for the game.
With the loss, the Irish finish the season with a 12-7 record. However, four of the seven losses came via a 1-0 score.
"I think we just got unlucky [in the game]," said Irish senior defender Griffin Howard. "Hopefully the experiences we've had this year, hopefully the younger guys will be able to build on them."
The stunning loss particularly deflated the Irish's seniors, who had very little time to react to playing in their last game for Notre Dame.
"I'm very sad for my seniors ... that was their first opportunity to be in the NCAAs, I would have loved to have stayed a little longer," Clark said.
However, the Irish were able to turn around the soccer program after two consecutive sub-.500 seasons. Friday's game marked the first time since 1996 that Notre Dame found itself playing in the end-of-the-year NCAA tournament.
"It is a step in the right direction, hopefully we'll come back and take it a little further next year," Clark said.
Notes
* In the second round game Sunday in College Park, the visiting Loyola Greyhounds defeated the Terrapins 1-0 in double overtime.
* In other College Cup action, three Big East teams made it to the round of 16, as St. John's, Rutgers and Seton Hall all advanced. St. John's defeated Massachusetts in the round of 32 Sunday, Rutgers defeated Harvard Friday and upset Big East rival Connecticut 1-0 in triple overtime Sunday and Seton Hall upset second-seeded Virginia Sunday.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, November 27, 2001
