Halftime here in Cary. N.C. and the Terps lead 1-0 after a 13th minute goal from midfielder Jeremy Hall. Possession was about even in the half, but the Terps were definitely more efficient and had more quality chances. Still, before Hall’s goal, which came as a result of a cross from defender Rich Costanzo from the right side, the Terps basically had nothing going.
Terps goalkeeper Zac MacMath made a diving save to his right about six minutes after Hall’s goal. But the big news of the half is an apparent right foot or ankle injury to starting defensive midfielder and set piece wizard Matt Kassel. Kassel was taken out a little more than 20 minutes in, and went straight to the end of the bench, where he was examined by both trainers immediately. As I type this, his right shoe is still off and he has a bag of ice on his ankle. It doesn’t look like he’s coming back in this game, and that’s huge.
It’ll be up to senior Michael Marchiano, who got almost no playing time this season after starting at Kassel’s spot last year, to provide some quality on corner kicks and free kicks.
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