Maryland men beat Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Working with a makeshift lineup Friday night, the No. 3 Maryland men’s soccer team was able to manufacture a shutout of league-rival Virginia, 2-0, at Klockner Stadium.

Casey Townsend and John Stertzer each provided Maryland (12-2-1, 6-1-1 ACC) with quick scores in the first and second half, respectively. Terrapin keeper Zac MacMath, who was working with a backline minus starters London Woodberry and Ethan White, made three saves to preserve Maryland’s ninth shutout of the year. It was the first time Virginia (9-3-3, 2-3-2 ACC) has given up two goals since it was blanked 2-0 by UConn in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Townsend’s goal at 1:32 started with a corner kick from Matt Kassel, which bounced around and was unsuccessfully cleared by UVa in the box. The junior from Traverse City, Mich., then rocketed a ground ball past Cavalier keeper Diego Restrepo for the early Maryland lead.

Stertzer, who filled in as an attacking midfielder, scored the second goal of his career off a slick header via a free kick assist by Kassel to the near post. His score came with only 2:20 elapsed in the second half and added more confidence to a backline that was bent but not broken due to injuries to Woodberry and White.

"That was a complete performance by our team and it was a great win," head coach Sasho Cirovski said. "We had a couple of injuries during the week that we had to make some adjustments for and we had a few guys really step up.

"I thought Billy Cortes - for his first game at right back - was outstanding and John Stertzer stepping into the attacking midfield role really rose to the occasion. All year we have talked about our depth and tonight was one of the first times we were challenged at the beginning of the game to make some adjustments and I thought we did a great job."

With the win, Maryland secures the second seed in the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Championship. The Terps also have a chance to split the regular season title with North Carolina should the Tar Heels lose to Clemson next Friday night.

Maryland will face William & Mary at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night at Ludwig Field.