BALTIMORE, Maryland November 16, 2015 - When Maryland lost to Ohio State on Halloween Night, just two weeks ago, things looked about as dire as they could be for the Defending Big Ten Champs, With that loss, Maryland had lost all hope of a regular season title. They had even put an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament in real jeopardy. It was a sobering place to be for Coach Sascho Cirovski, after a mind-numbing 20 straight appearances in the national championship tournament. Would his talented, but, so far, under-achieving 2015 squad be the ones to break the streak?
They would not.
With All-American Keeper Zack Steffan having turned pro after last season, his replacement, Cody Niedermeier, rose up like no other Maryland Keeper ever had - which is saying something - and by doing so guided Maryland past Indiana and then regular season champ Ohio State, and into the NCAA tournament, most certainly, now, with a first round bye that seemed absolutely out of the question when Maryland left College Park for Columbus late last week. Against the Hoosiers - which stood tied with Maryland after 90 minutes of regulation play and 20 minutes of sudden death overtime - Niedermeier made an incredible four straight saves on penalty shots (even one such save is spectacular) to allow the Terps to advance on penalty kicks, 3-2. Given a breath of life and a trip into the title game, Niedermeier then put a clean sheet on the Ohio State Buckeyes, which, coupled with decisive shooting by Eryk Williamson and Tsubasa Endoh, lifted Maryland to a 2-0 victory and the Big Ten Title.
The Title earns Maryland the conference's one automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. The remander of the 48 team field, the 16 seeded teams earning first round byes, and the match-ups for all entrants, will be announced today at noon.
Cirovski and his charges have now won a stunning four straight conference titles, an accomplishment that is made all the more breathtaking when one considers that none of the four winners were juggernauts with gaudy records. It proves that Cirovski is a coach for the ages, able to out-coach, out- maneuver, and out motivate other coaches whether they are experienced, young and 'innovative' or whatever other adjectives they attach to their reputations.
Take the case of Eryk Williamson, whose heroics in the weekend matches left everyone awestruck, everyone, that is, except Cirovski. The coach stuck with Williamson even though he was scoreless through the first 16 games of the season. Now, with everything on the line, Williamson has scored in four consecutive games. Yesterday, he ripped a shot into the back of the nets ten minutes into the game to put Maryland ahead to stay. Then, as time ticked away, and Ohio State was pushing everyone forward. Willaimson made a long and strong run through the teeth of the Buckeye defense before taking a powerful shot at the right side of the net. Ohio State Goal Keeper Chris Froschauer, a first team All Big Ten Selection, managed to block the shot, but he could not control it. Endoh, hustling up the field just to the left of Willismson, was exactly where he needed to be to bang home the rebound. At that point, the celebrations started.
None of the title game heroics would've been possible if Maryland hadn't pushed past Indiana in an unbelievable match that left both teams drained. Endoh put the Terps on the board in the tenth minute, but Indiana struck back just three minutes later. And that is how it remained through 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime. Cirovski picked the first five shooters for the Terps in the shoot-out. Indiana inserted their second-string keeper, Christian Lomeli, even though he hadn't played all season. He was spectacular, also, saving three of the six Maryland shots. The three Terps who scored were Mael Corboz, Emmanuel Korvah and Connor Smith. Smith's was the winner. He wasn't in the original group of shooters fielded by Cirovski, but when the mandatory five rounds ended, the score was tied, 2-2. Maryland actually trailed after the second and third rounds, 2-1, but Korvah, who didn't play during the match (let that sink in for a minute) tied the score in the fourth round. Both teams failed to score in the fifth round, setting up the first extra round. Niedermeier saved Indiana's shot and Smith converted, setting off a tired by jubilant celebration.
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