No. 3 Maryland men defeat Indiana to reach Big Ten final

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Via University of Maryland) – Goalkeeper Cody Niedermeier made four saves in the shootout to lift No. 3 seed Maryland past second-seeded Indiana, 3-2, in penalty kicks in the semifinals of the 2015 Big Ten Men’s Soccer Championship Friday.

Mael Corboz, Emmanuel Korvah and Connor Smith made their penalty kicks as two of the premier programs in all of college soccer battled to a 1-1 tie through 110 minutes. Senior Tsubasa Endoh scored the Terps’ lone goal in regulation. Maryland will have a shot at its fourth-straight league tournament championship when it faces top-seed Ohio State on Sunday. It was the fourth consecutive season that Maryland’s semifinal matchup has been decided in overtime or penalty kicks.

Endoh gave Maryland (9-5-5) an early advantage with his third goal of the season in the 10th minute. Freshman Eryk Williamson played the role of facilitator when his pass from the far sideline found a streaking Endoh and the Tokyo-native finished from six yards for the 1-0 lead.

Indiana (12-4-3) did not take long to answer, finding the back of the net a mere three minutes later. Phil Fives beat Niedermeier with a top-shelf strike from 12 yards for the equalizer.

The game would not see another goal for 98 minutes to cap the match as the Terps held a slim 13-12 shot advantage through regulation including a near game-winner when Williamson got a foot on a last-second shot. Indiana keeper Collin Webb made an incredible save to send the game into overtime, where the Hoosiers out-shot the Terps, 6-1, in 20 minutes of play.

Niedermeier was sensational in the penalty kick round, saving the final four attempts by the Hoosiers after the Terps fell down 2-1 early. The redshirt junior also made six saves in regulation.

“This was a tremendous, character team victory,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said. “We battled against a great opponent. The game could have gone either way but it seemed like a tie was in the making all along. I couldn’t be prouder of how tall our guys stood in the shootout. And our hero of the day – Cody Niedermeier. He’s a true champion. I’m really happy for our team. We have a huge challenge on Sunday but we’ll be prepared and will put up a great Maryland effort.”

Maryland will take on host Ohio State on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Big Ten title game at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The match will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.