Baako ok
Midway through the second half, senior midfielder Nat Baako could be seen wincing in pain while grabbing his left leg. Baako proceeded to run with a noticeable limp as he down the field, but remained in the match and appeared to improve as the game progressed.
“An old injury that someone stepped into,” Baako said. “I was limping for a bit. I just needed a few seconds to take care of it. Nothing serious.”
Baako later said the injury should not keep him out of any future matches.
The senior midfiedler led the College with three shots on Tuesday, including one shot on goal. Baako midfielder ranks first on the squad with six assists on the season.
Rough night for McAdams
Senior goalkeeper Andrew McAdams picked a bad night to have one of his worst games of the season.
McAdams gave up three goals in front of a raucous Maryland crowd, one that is famous in college soccer circles for harassing opposing goalkeepers.
The Terrapin fans, which sit right behind the opposing goalkeeper, chanted and sang for most of the match. Some of their chants included “Hey Andrew, you suck,” and the sing-song chant “I know a song that gets on Andrew’s nerves.”
“I couldn’t talk to my defenders, they were so loud,” McAdams said. “But that’s what you want. It’s not anything negative. It’s what you want to have when you play in these big places. It’s fun and it’s good to have the fans into it.”
Watch your backs
Freshman back Will Smith is one of the few underclassmen on the Tribe squad this season. While Smith has been for the most part excellent this season, Tuesday night was the freshman’s first taste of an NCAA Tournament-like atmosphere.
“The biggest thing is that we continue get better and we know we have to be better on the day,” Assistant Coach Chuck Connelly said. “We had too many guys not play as well as they are capable of, and on a day like today with a talented team like Maryland, that hurt us.”
Smith was involved in the first goal of the first half, as well as the Terrapin’s third goal of the match. Both Smith and Buckley slipped tracking back on the third goal, leading to a wide open shot for Maryland forward Casey Townsend.
