Maryland Men's Soccer Erases Halftime Deficit in a Six-Minute Home-Opener Surge

Leon Koehl scored Maryland's third goal during a six-minute second-half surge that carried the Terrapins past New Haven.

The Maryland men's soccer comeback arrived all at once Monday night. No. 7 Maryland trailed New Haven at halftime, then scored three times during a six-minute second-half surge to win its home opener 3-2 and remain perfect through two matches.

The Terrapins had controlled possession without converting it. New Haven took a 1-0 lead into the break despite Maryland's advantage in shots, forcing the home side to find a cleaner final ball and play with more urgency around the penalty area.

Henry Bernstein started the response in the 56th minute. Dominic Ayella scored three minutes later to move Maryland in front, and Leon Koehl added a third in the 62nd. What had been a frustrating night changed before New Haven could reset its defensive shape.

The numbers showed how much pressure Maryland created. The Terrapins outshot the Chargers 29-5 and placed 11 attempts on goal. That volume matters, but the decisive stretch was about efficiency: three different scorers converted in rapid succession, preventing New Haven from focusing on one attacker.

New Haven pulled one goal back and made the finish tighter than Maryland wanted. The Terrapins still protected the lead, improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2022 and extended their regular-season unbeaten streak to 17 matches. Early-season games are rarely polished, so the ability to solve a match after halftime carries value beyond the final score.

The schedule now gets more demanding. Maryland hosts No. 16 High Point on Saturday at 7 p.m., with the match available on Big Ten Plus. A ranked opponent should provide a sharper test of the Terrapins' finishing and defensive concentration. PowerPage Sports will follow whether the six-minute surge becomes the start of sustained attacking form.