BALTIMORE, Maryland December 13, 2013 - An inexcusable error by Virginia Keeper Callie Brown left a wide open net for All American Patrick Mullins to shoot at with just over eleven minutes gone n the first half, and there was no way Mullins would miss a gift like that. Brown wondered far off the goal line, apparently thinking he could beat Mullins to a wonderful pass from Maryland's Miklas Eticha. He never came close, and was left watching from the top of the penalty area as Maryland took a lead it would never relinquish. Maryland won its eleventh straight game as it downed the Cavaliers, 2-1, for the second time in the postseason, and in doing so advanced to the NCAA Title Game Sunday afternoon at 3 pm. There they will face Notre Dame, another ACC team, which also advanced to the title game on Friday by defeating New Mexico, 2-0.
Eticha took possession of the ball in the midfield and ran a few steps forward before deftly lobbing the pass to a streaking Mullins, who had found space between two baffled Virginia defenders. Maryland took the resulting 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half the Cavaliers increased the pressure on Maryland's young defense, anchored by freshmen at both center defense positions and at Keeper. But about thirty minutes into the second frame Tsubassa Endoh again fed Mullins as he broke between two retreating Cavalier defenders. Mullins easily controlled the excellent pass and launched a missle to the right side of the goal, easily beating a sprawling Brown.
Virginia, to its credit, did not quit. A mistake by the Terp's All-ACC midfielder Dan Metzger gave the Cavaliers a penalty kick just one minute after Mullins' second score, and Todd Wharton banged it home to pull the Cavaliers back to within a single goal. And still Virginia pressed the attack. With just over one minute left Virginia's Brian James ran onto a ball in the center of the box about twenty feet from the goal, and launched a shot just inside the right post. Steffan, positioned at the middle of the goal, dove hard to his right and got a hand on the low rocket, managing to deflect it wide of the goal. It was a scintillating save, and it saved the Maryland lead. Although the Cavaliers pressed again and gained a corner kick with ten seconds left, they did not again threaten the Terps. Notre Dame and Maryland finished tied atop the ACC at the end of the regular season, and the Irish advanced to the ACC Tournament Semifinal against Virginia last month in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In that game the Irish took a commanding second half lead, but let it slip away to a swarming Cavalier team. The match went into overtime but neither team broke through. A shootout ensued, which Virginia won. The NCAA does not count a Shootout loss as a loss on the team's record. Thus, Notre Dame enters the National Title Game on Sunday with a record of 16-1-6. The Terps are 17-3-5. During a brutal week in October Maryland played both Notre Dame and Virginia on the road with a space of three days, and earned a draw in each. In the game in South Bend, Indiana, the two teams battled to a scoreless draw in the first half, although the Irish seemed to control the ball more. After the half Maryland pressed the attack, but Vince Cicciarelli scored in the 59th minute to put the homestanding Irish ahead. The Terps would not give in and Mullins - who else? - tied the game for Maryland in the 71st minute. Both teams had chances to score a winning goal, but neither did, and the match ended a 1-1 draw. Three days later Maryland was in Charlottesville, where they played a wild 3-3 draw with the Cavaliers. Mullins made two penalty shots to allow Maryland to finish the trip without a loss. Incidentally, Notre Dame's only "real" loss was to Virginia, which beat the Irish in South Bend, 2-0.
On Thursday night, Maryland's Basketball team broke a disheartening two game losing streak when Dez Wells exploded for 31 points, including 18 in the second half, to propel the Terps to an 88-80 victory over Boston College. The Terps, 6-4, 1-0, had let a double digit lead slip away and actually fell behind the Eagles, 3-7, 0-1, by as many as four points in the second half. But Wells put the Terps on his back and carried them to the win, driving time and again to the basket for key baskets as time ran down. Freshman Roddy Peters was a huge help, scoring a career high 14 points. Jake Layman added 13 and Nick Faust had 11. All of Wells' second half points came in the final seven minutes. The Terps now return home for five consecutive wins, beginning Saturday when they tangle with Florida Atlantic at 2 pm.
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