COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Sophomore Brett St. Martin scored in the 109th minute to give the No. 25 Maryland men's soccer team a 1-0 overtime victory over No. 9 St. John's at Ludwig Field Monday night.
Maryland (4-3-0, 0-1-0) delivered the Red Storm (7-1-0, 1-0-0) their first loss of the season on St. Martin's dramatic winner deep into the second overtime period. The Terrapins were on the front foot for all of overtime leading up to St. Martin's winner.
The goal came off a Terps corner which Johannes Bergmann served in. The ball was headed out to the path of Matt Di Rosa at the top of the left side of the box. Di Rosa blasted the ball back into the mixer and St. Martin flicked it with his head into the Red Storm net.
The goal was the second of St. Martin's career and first at Ludwig Field. The match was Maryland's first in overtime this season.
.@brett_saint19... The Patron Saint of WINNERS 😃#Excellence pic.twitter.com/joCkagtqSt
— Maryland Soccer (@MarylandMSoccer) September 24, 2019
St. Martin's goal was not his only contribution of the night. The sophomore was an integral part of Maryland's 3-5-2 formation that helped the Terps not only shutdown the potent Red Storm attack (18 goals in seven matches coming in), but also find its attacking thrust. The Terps outshot the Johnnies, 12-7, the first time the road side had lost the shots battle this season.
Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski deployed St. Martin in a center back trio that included Johannes Bergmann for the entirety of proceedings and Marques Antoine to start. Freshman Chris Rindov played the final 46 minutes in place of Antoine.
Plaudits must be given to Antoine and Rindov who looked comfortable throughout against St. John's high-powered attack. Bergmann and St. Martin were their normal solid selves as Maryland, a part from a 10 minutes period in the second half, did not allow many openings to St. John's in the Terps' defensive third.
TOP 25: Check out the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll right here
Rindov was almost a hero for the Terps in the 95th minute. The Rockville, Md., native came flying in on a Brayan Padilla free kick and headed the ball just wide.
Junior Eric Matzelevich had Maryland's best chance of the second half. Padilla was once again the provider, this time on a corner kick. Matzelevich made a driving run to the near post and his headed flick went just over the crossbar.
The Terps have won four of five matches at Ludwig Field to begin the year and have already matched their regular season home win total from 2018. The Terps have won all four home matches by a 1-0 score line. St. Martin's goal was Maryland's third off a set piece this season.
Congratulations go out to Baltimore native Isaac Ngobu, who made his Maryland debut when he came on in the 84th minute. Ngobu impressed in his six minutes playing the left wing back position, showing his speed on a pair of occasions.
THE HERO LEADS THE VICTORY LAP! @brett_saint19 ❄️ #Excellence pic.twitter.com/OwSgNfOb9c
— Maryland Soccer (@MarylandMSoccer) September 24, 2019
From The Boss
"I challenged our team to respond after Friday and they did. Our effort the entire game was fantastic. To hold a talented St. John's team to a shutout was a great performance. I felt that our goal was going to come. We kept pushing for it and they don't all have to be beautiful. This was an effort goal. This was a character goal. I was happy for our players." – Sasho Cirovski
From the Boys
"My first career goal at Ludwig… It was a great atmosphere. The Crew was wonderful, I loved scoring in front of them. It was a great win. [The celebration] was surreal. I didn't really know what to do. I couldn't even describe it. The support from my teammates is just unreal. We are a family. We've got each other's backs through everything and you can see that on the field." – Brett St. Martin
Up Next
Maryland returns to conference play Friday night when it travels to Madison to take on Wisconsin. The match is set to kickoff at 8:30 p.m. ET and fans can watch live on BTN Plus.
