CARY, N.C. -- Maryland goalkeeper Chris Seitz spotted the
body language he was looking for and made the biggest save of the
NCAA championship game.
Seitz stopped a penalty kick by Andrew Boyens to help preserve a
slim lead and the Terrapins went on to beat New Mexico 1-0 for the
NCAA title, ending three years of frustration in which Maryland
lost in the semifinals.
Marc Burch's deflected free kick gave Maryland the lead in the
30th minute.
The penalty kick was awarded just after halftime when a Maryland
defender used his hand to block a mid-air bicycle kick by the
Lobos' leading scorer, Jeff Rowland.
As Boyens approached for the kick, Seitz could tell by the way
Boyens was lining up which way he was shooting.
"He opened up and from that point on I knew he was going to my
left and I just tried to get there," Seitz said.
Boyens placed his shot well short of the left post and the ball
caromed off Seitz's diving body back to Boyens' feet. He missed the
open net and fired high.
"It's the most disappointing thing you can go through," said
Boyens, who scored the game-winner and had an assist in Friday's
2-1 semifinal win over Clemson. "You've got the weight of your
team on your shoulders when you're standing there by yourself and
to miss it, it's horrible."
Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski said Seitz's save seemed to
deflate New Mexico.
"The other team starts to feel, 'It's just not our day.' And
our team gets that great save as a lift. I think that's what
happened at that point," Cirovski said.
Maryland (19-4-2) broke through when a foul on New Mexico's
David Gualdarama about 25 yards out gave the Terrapins a free kick.
Burch fired a low, hard shot around the wall New Mexico set up. The
ball nicked the foot of a Lobos defender, catching goalkeeper Mike
Graczyk leaning to his left.
"When you're playing a team of that caliber and you're playing
a big game like that, sometimes it comes down to the bounce of the
ball," New Mexico coach Jeremy Fishbein said.
Top-seeded Maryland attacked and second-seeded New Mexico
(18-2-3) counterpunched from the start of the College Cup final,
and each had opportunities.
"We played just as well," said Rowland, who scored a
team-leading 16 goals this season. "I think luck was more on their
side this time. We showed ourselves and we know we could have won
that game."
Maryland's muscular forwards Jason Garey and Burch kept up the
pressure by keeping the ball on the ground and attacking the Lobos'
tall, powerful defenders. The speed of New Mexico's Blake Danaher
forced two Terrapin defenders to commit intentional fouls, drawing
two yellow cards in the first half.
The Lobos were outshot 19-11 but never stopped threatening until
Seitz collected a missed header with 11 seconds left.
The Terrapins reached the semifinals the past three years and
lost in suburban Los Angeles; Columbus, Ohio; and Dallas. This
time, Maryland seniors played the 13th game of their careers in SAS
Soccer Stadium in suburban Raleigh, home to Atlantic Coast
Conference tournaments.
"We've come up short so many times. But it was unbelievable
feeling today to see that clock tick down and he's [Seitz] got the
ball in his hands and we knew it was over. It was the greatest
feeling," said Garey, who led the nation with 22 goals as a
senior.
Maryland, won its first national soccer title since 1968, when
it shared the title with Michigan State after the final ended tied
2-2 after two overtimes.
New Mexico was making its first appearance in a men's soccer
final. The school's only national championship in a team sport was
for skiing in 2004.