WESTMINSTER — Salvaging a scoreless tie at intermission after being outplayed in the opening 45 minutes, McDaniel’s men asserted themselves early in the second half and then held on to defeat their Centennial Conference rivals from Washington, 1-0, here on Saturday.
Sophomore Mike Mevo’s goal in the 50th minute — on the Green Terror’s fifth shot of the second half — held up as the game-winner.
McDaniel (5-2-1, 2-0 CC) won for the fourth match in a row, all by shutout, and hasn’t been scored on since the 81st minute of the Sept. 11 match against Eastern Mennonite — a streak of 369 minutes.
Meantime, Washington is 0-1-1 to start conference play, kept off the board against then-No. 5 Dickinson (a scoreless tie) on Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 at McDaniel.
The Green Terror snapped a four-match losing streak against the Shoremen dating back to 2019. Each of the last three meetings between the two sides has been decided by one goal.
On Saturday, Washington (3-2-4) controlled the tempo early, outshooting host McDaniel in the first half, 4-2, while holding a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks.
The Green Terror flipped the script to start the second half, launching a handful of shots in three minutes — including three by Mevo. After a shot by Brandon Morse was stopped by Cole White (four saves), Mevo was there to collect the rebound from about 10 yards out on the right side and slotted the ball into the lower left corner.
The Shoremen nearly pulled even in the 70th minute on a header by Assou Kowo from about 8 yards out, but his shot rung off the left post.
They nearly scored again in the 88th minute on Tucker Sprano’s shot from about 25 yards out that also hit the left post.
Washington appeared to have netted the equalizer in the 89th minute, but the goal was disallowed because a player was offside.
The locals’ last chance came with 10 seconds to play on a header by Katim Njie that cleared the crossbar.
Washington had the last eight shots of the match to finish with a 16-9 advantage, and led 9-2 in corner kicks.
NEXT UP: Washington hosts No. 13 Swarthmore at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2.