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Seniors Amar Sejdic and Sebastian Elney scored as the 11th-seeded Maryland men’s soccer team dominated NC State from start-to-finish in 2-0 win the NCAA Tournament second round on Sunday afternoon.

The Terrapins (9-6-4) were on the front foot throughout against the Wolfpack (10-7-2), holding a 13-1 shot advantage. NC State did not register its first shot until the 78th minute as the Terps held the majority of the attacking possession.

“I am incredibly pleased with our performance today. It was our best overall performance of the season,” Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski said. “I’ve seen this coming over the last month of the season. We’ve been getting better and better and trained extremely well. The energy has been fantastic. This was a vintage Maryland playoff performance. We were on the front foot from beginning to end. This was a total team performance.”

Maryland held the advantage from the opening whistle and capitalized on their early pressure with Sejdic’s goal in the 11th minute. NC State keeper Leon Krapf hit an errant pass that fell to the feet of Sejdic just outside the box. The senior took a touch and picked out the left corner of the net for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.

In the 21st minute, the Terps came close to doubling the lead. Junior Paul Bin created some havoc on a long ball in the box that Krapf was forced to parry into the path of William James Herve. Herve quickly struck shot towards goal but it was saved by an NC State defender between going in.

Sejdic took that rebound and cross back into the box towards Herve, but the freshman’s header flashed wide.

Maryland’s second goal came after the halftime interval in the 57th minute. Junior Eli Crognale sends in a corner that Donovan Pines headed off the post. Elney followed up with a header on the rebound to double the Terps advantage. It was the senior’s third goal of the season.

Maryland’s backline of Pines, Johannes Bergmann, Chase Gasper, and Ben Di Rosa was sensational throughout the match. The Wolfpack’s forays forward were consistently thwarted by the foursome, with Pines winning all of his battles in the air. Senior Andrew Samuels also had a great match at his defensive midfield position. Redshirt junior Dayne St. Clair was forced to make just one save.

The Terps advance to the NCAA Third Round to face the winner of Sunday evening’s match between No. 6 Duke and Pacific. Date, time and site of that game are to be determined. 

-Via Maryland Athletics

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