Senior Suli Dainkeh’s goal with 1:01 remaining in double overtime completed a valiant comeback on Sunday as the No. 1 Maryland men’s soccer team capped its undefeated regular season with a win at Michigan, 3-2.
It was the first career goal for Dainkeh – a defender – as the Terps (15-0-2, 7-0-1 B1G) stretched their winning streak to 12 straight games. Maryland has not lost a match since a defeat at Ohio State on Oct. 31, 2015. It is the sixth undefeated regular season in program history and the first since Maryland shared the national championship in 1968.
Gordon Wild – who leads the conference with 15 goals – also scored for the Terps, as did senior defender Chris Odoi-Atsem.
Defensively, the Terps would need to overcome a two-goal deficit after surrendering two early goals to a spirited Michigan squad that was celebrating Senior Day Sunday while attempting to knock off a top-ranked team for the first time in school history.
Todd
A few clarifications:
Wild is third nationally in scoring.
Although it’s technically recorded as a tie, the Terps did lose in a PK shootout at Clemson in the round of 8 in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
As for the game, it should be noted that MD was down four starters at the beginning of the game (3 with some sort of food poisoning and a minor injury to Amar Sedic) and lost a fourth to illness at the half so this shows Maryland’s depth and grit.
Saturday, they’ll host the winner of Friday’s Michigan vs Rutgers 8 vs 9 match in the B1G Tournament.
The Terps are still a unanimous #1 and haven’t lost this season but fans shouldn’t feel cocky. Each of Maryland’s last six wins have been by a single goal with one game going into overtime and two needing double overtime. While the competition has been good in that stretch, the highest ranked RPI team the Terps faced was Hofstra as #26. They will definitely have to step up their play to make a run at the College Cup.
· 11/12/2019