Usually scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes is a recipe for success in college soccer.
Stefan Copetti and Malcolm Johnston did just that, giving Maryland men’s soccer a cushion it never relinquished in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against FDU.
The Terps advanced to the second round for the first time since 2019, defeating the Knights 5-2.
“I think tonight you saw an inspired performance by our team,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “We did everything we wanted to do … overall, a terrific performance.”
The Terps wasted no time getting on the board, connecting on a string of passes from defender Nick Richardson and Johnston resulting in a Copetti goal in just the second minute. The forward headed the ball in from point blank range after Johnston kept the ball alive.
Just a few minutes later, Maryland doubled its lead following a foul just outside the box. Forward Joshua Bolma drew the contact, and Johnston slotted the free kick in the corner of the net for his sixth score of the season.
Johnston executed a perfectly drawn up play the Terps had been practicing all week.
“I did it in practice and honestly wasn’t able to execute like that,” Johnston said. “But when I saw the ball, I felt confident, and I knew I trusted the [Bolma and Luca Costabile] to execute the play we designed.”
The Terps registered three shots in the first ten minutes, all on target.
A bit of a lull in the action took place over the next 15 minutes, but Maryland picked it right back up in the 26th minute.
Johnston, looking to add to his goal and assist, sent a back heel flick to midfielder Albi Ndrenika. The freshman took the pass and placed the ball in the back of the net for his first career goal, extending the Terps’ lead to three.
Johnston notched two assists and a goal in the first half, dominating the competition in just 28 minutes.
“We were just hungry to get on the front foot,” Johnston said. “We wanted to score goals. I feel like we’ve outplayed teams in the past and we’ve just been lacking creativity and goals in the final third. We were able to do that tonight.”
Maryland dominated the first half, as the Terps owned a 66% possession total and outpaced FDU six to one in shot attempts.
The second half saw the Knights bring a little more pressure, forcing goalkeeper Niklas Neumann to make three saves by the midway mark. However, more of the same transpired for the home team, as the Terps found a fourth goal in the 64th minute.
Midfielder Joe Suchecki let Copetti’s pass deflect off his chest before taking a shot from just inside the box. The redshirt sophomore kicked one off his left foot, slotting it in the back left corner of the net.
The Knights got one back in the 74th minute, when freshman forward Matt Giraldo slotted one in after the ball deflected off Neumann back out into the field.
In the 81st minute, forward Hunter George scored unassisted to give the Terps their fifth and final goal of the contest. George had played sparingly throughout the match but made his lone shot count.
A last-minute goal for the Knights brought the final score to 5-2, as Giraldo once again found the back of the net. But the Terps dominated the whole way through, facing little resistance after scoring two early goals.
“It definitely makes [the defense’s] job easier back there, just knowing that obviously we’ve got two goals and we got momentum,” defender Chris Rindov said. “Our main priority is to keep the clean sheet … keeping locked in on what their players might do, any counters … but having those two goals is massive.”
Following a disappointing loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Semifinals, Maryland came out with something to prove in the college cup. Over a week of rest allowed the Terps to have fresh legs against the NEC champions.
Maryland flipped the script from last year’s NCAA Tournament when it fell in the same round to LIU, 1-0.
“We won our first game … that’s better than last year already,” Cirovski said. “Now we just have to go on the road. It’s difficult to win anywhere in college, it’s tough on the road, but we’ve been quite good on the road this year.”
The Terps are back in action Sunday when they travel to Ithaca to take on No. 14-seed Cornell.
