WILMINGTON, N.C. – Jon Koka played the part of hero with two goals in the final five minutes to send Missouri State to the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament Third Round in legendary fashion with a 2-1 victory over Maryland here Sunday afternoon at UNCW Soccer Stadium.
After Terrapins forward Eric Matzelevich scored the game’s opening goal in the 84th minute, Koka and the Bears wasted no time in delivering a historic response, first with the equalizer in the 86th and then the buzzer-beater with 35 seconds remaining in the game to cap a wild ending to the second-round match.
The last-minute theatrics advanced Missouri State to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in its 39-year history and earned the program its second NCAA Tournament win with victories in back-to-back seasons.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to help the team like that,” said Koka following the match. “We saw how we played with five men up front for most of the game and the message after their goal was to just continue that and the scoring chances would come.”
The Bears (12-1-0) started off the match by living up to their reputation as the nation’s leader in corner kicks with a pair of corner set-pieces in the opening minutes. Both of Kian Yari’s entries resulted in headers that sailed high of goal with Greg Stratton registering the first shot of the match and Josh Dolling soaring above the pack for the second.
Maryland (4-5-2) struggled to keep MSU out of its defensive side of the pitch throughout most of the first half with six different Bears getting a shot off and Maryland goalkeeper Jamie Lowell being put to work early and often as he collected four of his five saves of the match in the opening period.
Nicolo Mulatero, who finished as the game’s shot leader with five, provided consecutive near-goal opportunities in the final minutes of the first half. He launched two shots towards goal, the first being a low dribbler that ricocheted off Lowell and the latter coming on a right-footed laser that was snagged by the Terps keeper.
With the Bears boasting a 9-3 advantage in the shots column at halftime, the Terps responded with a trio of early chances to start the second period. Maryland’s Justin Gielen registered two of the attempts as all three balls flew wide of the net.
MSU matched the Terps second-half intensity with three straight shots of its own as the final one from Mulatero sparked a Maryland counter-attack that led to its game-opening goal.
Carrying a full-head of steam, the Terps attack struck quickly and Nick Richardson’s cross in front of the Bears net found a diving Matzelevich for the header goal.
With three come-from-behind wins under its belt coming into the match, MSU erased the 1-0 deficit after Koka found himself in the right spot as Jesus Barea collected a deflected ball and threaded the needle to find Koka who buried the game-tying goal.
Moments later, a ball sent forward from the Bears defensive half found Koka on his run past the Maryland defense and the sophomore striker fired home the game-winner to trigger an eruption from the MSU sideline.
“This is a terrific win for the team, the program and the university,” said Bears head coach Jon Leamy. “We absolutely felt like we could come back after giving up the goal and the team did a fantastic job to go out there and take care of it. We’re excited to get a chance to play another game and look forward to carrying this momentum into Thursday’s match.”
The Bears assault finished the match with 17 shots, reaping double-digit efforts from Barea, Koka, Mulatero and Adrian Barosen.
Missouri State will face seventh-seeded Washington (11-3-0) on Thursday, May 6 in Cary, N.C. with the start time to be determined.
