Maryland ends frustration with NCAA soccer title
CARY, N.C. – Maryland goalkeeper Chris Seitz spotted the body language he was looking for and made the biggest save of the NCAA championship game.
Seitz stopped a penalty kick by Andrew Boyens to help preserve a slim lead and the Terrapins went on to beat New Mexico 1-0 for the NCAA title, ending three years of frustration.
Marc Burch’s deflected free kick gave Maryland the lead in the 30th minute.
The penalty kick was awarded just after halftime when a Maryland defender used his hand to block a mid-air bicycle kick by the Lobos’ leading scorer, Jeff Rowland.
As Boyens approached for the kick, Seitz could tell by the way Boyens was lining up which way he was shooting.
“He opened up and from that point on I knew he was going to my left and I just tried to get there,” Seitz said.
Boyens placed his shot well short of the left post and the ball caromed off Seitz’s diving body back to Boyens’ feet. He missed the open net and fired high.
“It’s the most disappointing thing you can go through,” said Boyens, who scored the game-winner and had an assist in Friday’s 2-1 semifinal win over Clemson. “You’ve got the weight of your team on your shoulders when you’re standing there by yourself and to miss it, it’s horrible.”
Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski said Seitz’s save seemed to deflate New Mexico.
“The other team starts to feel, ‘It’s just not our day.’ And our team gets that great save as a lift. I think that’s what happened at that point,” Cirovski said.
Maryland (19-4-2) broke through when a foul on New Mexico’s David Gualdarama about 25 yards out gave the Terrapins a free kick. Burch fired a low, hard shot around the wall New Mexico set up. The ball nicked the foot of a Lobos defender, catching goalkeeper Mike Graczyk leaning to his left.
“When you’re playing a team of that caliber and you’re playing a big game like that, sometimes it comes down to the bounce of the ball,” New Mexico coach Jeremy Fishbein said.
Top-seeded Maryland attacked and second-seeded New Mexico (18-2-3) counterpunched from the start of the College Cup final, and each had opportunities.
“We played just as well,” said Rowland, who scored a team-leading 16 goals this season. “I think luck was more on their side this time.”
The Terrapins reached the semifinals the past three years.
“We’ve come up short so many times. But it was an unbelievable feeling today to see that clock tick down and he’s (Seitz) got the ball in his hands and we knew it was over. It was the greatest feeling,” said forward Jason Garey, who led the nation with 22 goals as a senior.
Maryland, won its first national soccer title since 1968, when it shared the title with Michigan State after the final ended tied 2-2 after two overtimes.
New Mexico was making its first appearance in a men’s soccer final. The school’s only national championship in a team sport was for skiing in 2004.