COLLEGE PARK - Regulation wasn't enough. Nor were two overtimes. To reach the NCAA men's soccer quarterfinals, Maryland needed penalty kicks.
After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, the third-seeded Terps converted five penalty kicks to defeat 14th-seeded Creighton at Ludwig Field. The Terps (16-5-2) have now reached the final eight for the third straight season and will host St. John's on Saturday with a chance at their third consecutive College Cup.
"It's an awful way to lose a game. Creighton deserves a lot of credit," Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski said.
"The story of this game really was in the first half. We played some of our best soccer of the year. We had five quality chances and came away with nothing. In the second half, I think we took the foot off the pedal a little bit."
Maryland began the game much like it did against Hofstra in last week's second round, failing to convert quality looks in the first half despite mounting several attacks. The Terps took nine shots in the half, including an attempt from forward Jason Garey that bounced off the crossbar.
The second half was much the same, with neither team able to convert opportunities. Creighton (14-4-2) continued to attack Maryland goalkeeper Noah Palmer, continually pressuring him and twice forcing him to make difficult saves down the stretch.
After two overtimes that followed a similar pattern, the teams headed to penalty kicks.
Maryland forward Abe Thompson scored first, finding the upper right corner of the net. Creighton and Maryland then traded misses before Creighton's Kama Bennah tied it at 1. The teams went back and forth for the next three frames until Maryland freshman Maurice Edu hit the top-left corner of the net for a 5-4 advantage.
Creighton's next shot, from Vince Odorisio, sailed high, and the Terps rushed toward Palmer in celebration.
"It wasn't as nerve-racking, it was just kind of emotional," said Palmer, who had a diving save in the third frame. "I was confident the whole game."
"Normally a higher seeded team or a favorite thinks going to PKs they have already lost the game," Cirovski said. "But our guys, you could see it in their eyes - in Noah's eyes, in Abe's eyes - that we were ready."
