Maryland men’s soccer hopes to carry offensive momentum into matchup against Pacific

Maryland men’s soccer (2-0-1) will host Pacific (1-2-0) on Saturday at Ludwig Field. The matchup will be the first encounter between the two teams since 2021, when the Terps defeated the Tigers 3-0 at home. 

“I really like our culture, our chemistry is good,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said. “We have good balance, we’re deep.” 

On Monday night, Maryland defeated Saint Francis (0-3-0) at home. Saint Francis had struggled offensively in its prior two matchups, and those struggles continued as the Red Flash were shut out for a third consecutive game.

Saint Francis did not have much possession of the ball due to Maryland’s hounding defense. The Red Flash had possession of the ball in the sixth minute with a corner kick and once again in the 16th minute with a free kick, but Maryland was able to capture the ball during both of Saint Francis’s possessions.

In the 23rd minute, Maryland substituted senior midfielder Albi Ndrenika for junior forward Luke van Heukelum, who supplied the Terps’ first and only goal during the first half. 

Seventeen minutes after that decision, van Heukelum scored a goal with a double assist from senior defender Brian St. Martin and senior midfielder Matias de Jesus that gave the Terps a 1-0 lead.

In the second half, Maryland scored relentlessly against Saint Francis. 

A goal in the 58th minute from Ndrenika extended the Terps’ lead to 2-0. Three minutes later, van Heukelum went for his second goal of the night with help from de Jesus, who notched his third assist of the game.

During the last eight minutes of the match, Maryland fired in three more goals. One by St. Martin scored in the 82nd minute with an assist from freshman midfielder Henry Bernstein, who then scored his first collegiate goal in his third career game. 

Freshman forward Mateo Caride kicked in Maryland’s sixth and final goal of the match. 

Not only is this the most goals Maryland has scored so far this season, but it is the most scored by the Terps since their match against California during the 2012 season, when they also won 6-0.

Maryland’s offense has had a prolific start this season, scoring nine goals in the first three games. During the first three games of the 2024 season, they scored six and had a record of 1-1-1. 

Pacific won their first game of the season, 2-1, on Sunday against Utah Tech in their home opener. Freshman forward Josephat Yangyuoru scored the first goal of the season for the Tigers during this match. 

Junior goalkeeper Mateus Ruiz-Hurst earned his first career win with four saves. Three occurred in a second half that saw Utah Tech hold consistent possession and apply offensive pressure. 

Throughout the 2024 season, Pacific recorded four shutouts, three during their first four non-conference matches. On the other end, though, the Tigers ended the season with 0.94 goals per game. Maryland had 1.65 goals per game during the 2024 season.