Maryland men’s soccer falls to Rutgers, 2-1, claims last place in Big Ten

In the 62nd minute with the Terps trailing 2-1, they got a chance to do what they hadn’t all season: score a penalty. 

A handball from Francesco Di Ponzio inside the box allowed for yet another Terps spot kick. 

Maryland, 0-for-3 on penalties this season, sent a new player out to take it in Kimani Stewart-Baynes. The freshman became the fourth penalty taker this season — and the fourth to miss — firing a low shot that went wide right. 

Maryland men’s soccer (1-6-2, 0-4-1 Big Ten) couldn’t capitalize on a 13-shot and eight shot-on-goal advantage, falling 2-1 to Rutgers (3-5-2, 1-2-1) to place itself firmly in last place in the Big Ten. 

“We’ve got to start winning some games so we can at least even get into the Big Ten tournament,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “I never thought I’d be saying that.”

The game’s action started early, with Maryland allowing multiple runs behind its back line. A minute later, senior goalkeeper Jamie Lowell was forced to make a huge defensive play in a one-on-one situation. 

Rutgers senior forward Ola Maeland took advantage of the Maryland defensive lapse, receiving the through ball in stride as he found himself eye-to-eye with Lowell. He took the shot, nailing the left post, but the rebound found its way right back to his foot for a tap-in, giving Rutgers the early 1-0 lead.

Cirovski was furious with the Terps’ defensive efforts, repeatedly yelling “too easy!” to his team.

“Unfortunately it bounced right back perfectly into his foot, it’s the way our year has been,” Cirovski said. “If that ball hits the goal post and bounces two inches the other way, it doesn’t come onto his foot and he doesn’t score.”

Maryland stormed right back down the field after the goal. Freshman forward Luke van Heukelum forced a save off a corner, unable to level the score.

Despite the Terps looking the more threatening team for the following 15 minutes, Rutgers seemed keen on taking advantage of whatever opportunities it was given. 

The Scarlet Knights saw their first chance in some time in the 19th minute when a shot opened up for junior midfielder Matthew Acosta outside of the box. The junior’s shot forced a tough save from Lowell, but the keeper was unable to hang onto the ball. It dropped to the foot of sophomore forward Ian Abbey for yet another tap-in, Rutgers getting its brace in the early stages.

For a second time, Maryland attempted to respond quickly after the goal. 

Junior defender William Kulvik received a huge chance on a set piece. He found himself with a chance toe-to-toe with sophomore goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton inside the six yard box but was unable to capitalize, shooting it right at the keeper for a big save.

Maryland continued its dominance over possession from there, finally finding its breakthrough in the 32nd minute. Sophomore forward Max Riley did not hesitate when he found the ball bouncing to his feet outside the box, firing a shot into the bottom left corner and bringing his team life.

The last action of the half came in the 43rd minute on a big-time shot from Terps freshman midfielder Leon Koehl. The freshman made a great move to get the ball on his right foot before curling it into the right netting. However, Dalton was having none of it, punching the shot away. 

This allowed Rutgers to boast a 2-1 lead heading into the halftime break. But the Terps found late momentum thanks to Riley’s goal. 

Maryland picked up right where it left off to begin the second half, as forward Stefan Copetti forced a big save in the 48th minute. The senior tried to pick out the bottom right corner and nearly did, had it not been for another great effort from Dalton.

The next big chance of the game — and the best chance for the Terps to level things — came In the 62nd minute when Stewart-Baynes missed his penalty, keeping the Terps behind. 

Minutes later, Riley got two great opportunities to score. The first was a shot inside the box, showing great control to get it off, but he couldn’t put it in the back of the net due to another great save from Dalton. His next chance came when a Maryland header struck the top of the left post, and a rebound fell right to his feet. However, what looked like a sure goal inside the six yard box was fired wide, possibly deflecting off a Rutgers player but being called a goal kick.

The Terps thought they had their leveler once again in the 77th minute. Copetti got his foot to another big cross, but Dalton covered a crazy distance to deny the striker’s point-blank effort from finding the bottom left corner. 

“I think we’re doing all the right things,” sophomore defender Mack DeVries said. “Eventually the bounces will fall our way and the wins will come but we just gotta keep grinding.”

Unfortunately for Maryland, despite a late push, these would be its only big chances in the second half, as it fell to the Scarlet Knights, 2-1.

Dalton finished the game with ten saves for the Scarlet Knights, almost single-handedly leading them to victory.

The Terps take on Bowling Green in their third consecutive home game Saturday.