Real Maryland’s debut game in the United Soccer League’s Second Division on April 20 was like a nightmare: miserable weather, a shutout loss to Western Massachusetts and a small crowd at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds.
Take two last Saturday night was the opposite; the exact opposite, even, until Mother Nature decided to have her way again.
The Monarchs scored their first two goals in franchise history and kept their fellow first-year franchise, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, off the scoreboard. A clear sky attracted roughly 1,800 spectators, more than doubling the prior week’s attendance.
But in the game’s final 10 minutes, a light rainfall started to drop. Out of nowhere, at the 89:20 mark of the game, a bolt of lightning opened up the skies and forced referees to call a 30-minute delay. When conditions worsened, they simply called the game, giving the Monarchs the 2-0 victory.
‘‘Well, a win’s a win,” said Real Maryland head coach Silvino Gonzalo. ‘‘Crazy, huh?”
Aside from the game’s bizarre ending, everything went just about the way Real Maryland hoped it would. Against the Pioneers six days before, offensive chances were few and far between. But just 6 minutes into the action Saturday, the Monarchs scored their first-ever goal with exquisite flair.
Salvadoran international midfielder Dennis Alas switched the ball to fellow midfielder Devlin Barnes, a 2000 graduate of The Heights who normally plays right back. Barnes, replacing suspended Teodoro Ramirez in midfield, squared a pass to forward William Brindley. Streaking down the middle of the field, Brindley received the pass in stride and blasted an uncontested shot into goal.
It was a big goal for Brindley, who said he’s struggled adjusting to the language barrier with several of his Spanish-speaking teammates. But it wasn’t a problem on the scoring play.
‘‘I have to talk to Nilson [Perez, a Colombian-born striker] a lot and he’s taught me some basics,” Brindley said. ‘‘Derecha is right, izquierda is left, and then primera is to the post. So yeah, communication can be hard with the international players. Not with Devlin, though: I was screaming my lungs out.”
The second goal, just before halftime, was a little flukier, but just as exciting because of who finished it. Former Major League Soccer star Ronald Cerritos, the team’s most well-known player, was in the right place at the right time when Riverhounds goalkeeper Andrew Keszler tried to put the ball downfield. Instead, it hit the back of one of his defenders. Cerritos reacted first and beat Keszler to his right side, then ran towards the home fans with a hand motioning to his ear.
From that point forward, play got chippy on both sides. Cerritos received a soft red card in the second half, and will be out of the lineup when the Monarchs go on the road for a rematch with Western Massachusetts this Saturday.
Gonzalo was happy with the effort, but thinks his team needs to play more technically to be a championship contender in the 10-team league.
‘‘Definitely things to work on,” he said. ‘‘I thought we just kind of played long ball for a lot of the game. But two goals is two goals.”
