FRISCO, Texas — Graham Zusi scored on a free kick with six minutes left in extra time to put Maryland in the College Cup final with a 1-0 win over St. John’s on Friday night.
The Terrapins (22-3-0) will meet 13th-seeded North Carolina (15-7-1) for the NCAA title on Sunday.
“Appropriately, the best player on the field got the game-winning goal,” Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski said. “Graham Zusi was outstanding.”
Kitson made nine saves, but his diving attempt to deny Zusi was just late.
“It was a great free kick,” Kitson said. “There’s not much you can do.”
St. John’s (19-3-3) played cautiously throughout, and with penalty kicks looming, it probably wasn’t bad strategy considering how well Kitson was playing.
“We wanted to finish it,” Cirovski said. “(Kitson) would have an advantage in a penalty kick situation.”
Maryland dominated play in the second half but couldn’t cash in on a number of chances until Zusi’s set piece.
Maryland beat North Carolina twice this season, winning 2-1 in College Park early last month, then 1-0 in the ACC quarterfinals five days later — dealing the Tar Heels their fifth straight loss and forcing them to wait for an at-large bid into the NCAA field.
Maryland is 6-0-1 against the Tar Heels in their last seven meetings. North Carolina’s last win in the series was Oct. 5, 2003.
North Carolina upset the defending NCAA champions in the opener after dropping a 4-2 game to Wake Forest in the regular season.
In that game, the Tar Heels blew a 1-0 halftime lead and the Demon Deacons went on to clinch the regular-season title.
On Friday night, Brian Shriver scored less than four minutes in, and goalkeeper Brooks Haggerty helped the goal stand up.
“We didn’t let what happened before get into our heads,” Shriver said. “We were going to play hard the entire 90 minutes. We were the better team today.”
Wake Forest (21-2-1) was the favorite, but UNC grabbed early momentum when Zach Loyd charged down the right side and crossed to Shriver, who headed a shot past goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald from 6 yards out 3:56 into the game.
The Deacons got off to a shaky start and couldn’t find an offensive rhythm until the final half-hour.
“I sensed a little nervousness with our group, which surprised me,” Demon Deacons midfielder Sam Cronin said. “We’ve been here the last few years so it hasn’t sunk in yet.”
Said Wake Forest coach Jay Vidovich: “I’m very gutted by the result. We didn’t play. We wasted 35 minutes.”
Haggerty, who lost the starting job early in the season due to a concussion, was especially sharp in the closing 30 minutes. Wake Forest was shut out for the second time this season. The other was a 0-0 draw with Duke on Oct 18.
“I was determined,” Haggerty said. “I was not letting anything in. And our defense was throwing their body in front of the ball. I knew our team was going to get it done.”
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