COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Coming into Tuesday night’s match against No. 3 Maryland (13-2-1), No. 13 William & Mary (12-3-2) had plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Last week, the Tribe debuted in the NSCAA rankings riding a 10-game unbeaten streak.
But the CAA leaders were no match for the Terrapins' high-powered offense, one of the best in the nation. Maryland opened the scoring in just under two minutes, as Tribe ‘keeper Andrew McAdams couldn’t keep Maryland's Jason Herrick’s low, stinging drive out of the net.
Forward Casey Townsend doubled Maryland’s lead in the 28th minute, hitting a firm, left-foot volley past a diving McAdams.
“We came out flying – Casey and Jason are just getting better and better every game,” Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski said.
A high-pressing Terrapin side limited William & Mary’s time and space on the ball, strangling out any offensive chances the Tribe tried to muster, especially in the first half.
At the start of the second stanza, already down by two, William & Mary tried to get something going through Nathaniel Baako and Alan Koger. While the performance improved, W&M couldn’t muster a serious test of Maryland 'keeper Zac MacMath.
Terrapins midfielder Paul Torres tallied in the second half to push the lead to 3-0 and put Maryland on cruise control to its ninth straight win.
“We were prepared to play,” Cirovski said. “We wanted to treat [the game] with the kind of respect it deserves, and as a result it was a very good performance.”
National Notes
Coming off a Friday night home loss to the Terrapins, No. 15 Virginia (10-3-3) bounced back at home with a 4-1 win over Campbell. Will Bates led the attack with two goals and an assist, while freshman Brian Span added a goal.
No. 22 Penn State, playing without leading scorers Corey Hertzog and Matheus Braga, squeaked past Lafayette 1-0. Sophomore Daniel Burnham scored for the Nittany Lions (11-5-1), winners of three straight.
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