Following a loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 14-seed Cornell, Maryland men’s soccer’s season came to an end.
The Terps fell to the Big Red 2-1 after conceding two goals in the last final six minutes.
Despite the disappointing outcome in the tournament, the Terps had another highly successful season under coach Sasho Cirovski.
Cirovski, in his 30th season under the helm, won his second Big Ten Coach of the Year award following an unbeaten Big Ten record (4-0-4). The Terps went on a nine match unbeaten streak from Sept. 5 to Oct. 14, racking up impressive wins over fellow tournament teams Virginia, Georgetown, Ohio State and Rutgers. Over that stretch, Maryland outscored its opponents 21 to 11.
Following that stretch, the Terps hit a little bit of a rough patch, drawing Northwestern and Wisconsin, and losing to Old Dominion. However, they finished out the season strong, earning convincing victories over Michigan State and Delaware before tying Indiana to claim the Big Ten regular season title.
It was Maryland’s first regular season championship since 2016, a possible sign of things to come following a trophy-less few seasons following the 2018 National Championship.
The Terps defeated Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, 1-0, but fell short in the second round against Indiana, losing 2-1 at home.
Despite the disappointing outcome in the Big Ten tournament, midfielder and captain Malcolm Johnston remained confident in the group of players around him.
“We still know what we have in the locker room,” Johnston said following the loss. “We still know the quality that we have, and now we can go win a national championship.”
Maryland did not earn a ranked seed in the NCAA tournament but did defeat Fairleigh Dickinson handily in the first round, 5-2, behind early goals from Johnston and forward Stefan Copetti.
The Terps then traveled to Ithaca to face No. 14-seed Cornell in the second round. The match was fairly even the whole way through, but Cornell forward Danny Lokko put an end to Maryland’s season with two goals in the final six minutes.
The Terps will be losing some key pieces for next year’s squad in Johnston, goalkeeper Niklas Neumann and defenders Nick Richardson and Chris Rindov.
Johnston paced the Terps with six goals and eight assists as a senior, both career-highs. He ranked fifth in the conference in goals and tied for the lead in assists.
Neumann, despite sustaining an MCL injury that held him out for about a month, returned down the stretch and contributed at a high level. The Germany native ranked fifth in the Big Ten in goals against per game.
Richardson had a breakout campaign in his final season, continuing his stellar defensive play while scoring his first three career goals, and tied Johnston and midfielder Joshua Bolma for the team lead in assists. The redshirt senior’s experience and leadership will be sorely missed considering he was the only remaining Terp from the championship roster.
Rindov contributed two goals and an assist while being an iron man. The Rockville native played all 1800 minutes on the season and anchored the Terps’ stout defense from the center back position.
With key players moving on, Cirovski will look to his younger crop to lead next season.
Bolma will continue to be an offensive focal point in his redshirt junior season –– and will look to improve upon his two goal output. Center back William Kulvik will step into the void left by Rindov, anchoring the defense along with unanimous All-Freshman selection Luca Costabile. The left back was a pleasant surprise for the Terps this year, starting in 18 of 20 games as he cemented his status as a key piece for years to come.
Despite the regular season success, Maryland’s streak of early exits in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments have become a recurring theme since the 2018 season. Cirovski consistently calls college soccer a “cruel” sport that can be decided by the slightest of mistakes, and stresses the importance of having the right process over results.
“This is a team that has great character,” Cirovski said. “They’re really fun to coach. They’re just made of the right stuff.”
