Maryland men’s soccer hopes to continue unbeaten season against Penn State

On Tuesday night, Maryland men’s soccer (5-0-1, 1-0) will travel to Jeffrey Field to face Penn State (2-4-1, 0-2) for their second Big Ten match of the season. The teams faced each other last season, a match that ended in a 1-1 draw. The Terps have not won a game against Penn State since 2018, though they hold a 24-21-8 series record against the Nittany Lions

The Terps have won four straight games and still haven’t lost this season.

During their match against Pitt on Friday, the forceful forward duo of sophomore Stephane Njike and senior Sadam Masereka scored the Terps’ only two goals of the game, resulting in the 2-1 victory.

Maryland’s defense overpowered Pitt’s offense, limiting the Panthers to eight total shots. Sophomore goalkeeper Laurin Mack saved four of Pitt’s five shots on goal. 

Mack has been a stalwart this season, recording 20 saves and only allowing three goals so far. He leads the Big Ten in save percentage (83.3) and saves per game (3.33).

The Terps recorded 10 shots during the first half of the match,  including three on goal. Three of these shots were by Njike and another three by senior midfielder Chris Steinleitner, but neither found their target 

“I thought we did well, but you know, we had nothing to show for it,” head coach Sasho Cirvoski said. “And then I thought the second half, we came out and there was a lot more quality when we got the ball.”

In the 49th minute, the Long Island transfer Njike went for his fourth shot of the match and found the back of the net to give the Terps a 1-0 lead and notch his third goal of the season.

Masereka extended Maryland’s lead to 2-0 with eight minutes left in the match, logging his third goal of the season as well. 

With two minutes left in the match, Pitt attempted to catch up to the Terps. A goal by freshman midfielder Jakob Löpping made it a 2-1 game, but Maryland held on to its lead.

Penn State lost its most recent match 4-1 against No. 5 Indiana. Graduate forward Kai Phillip scored the Nittany Lions’ only goal of the match and his first goal with the team. Since transferring from Evansville ahead of this season, Phillip has started every game, along with recording 14 shots.

Phillips’ goal was assisted by junior Caden Grabfelder, who was a major threat to Maryland the last time they faced Penn State. The midfielder tied up last season’s match in the 61st minute while recording four shots during the game.

Forward Colin Griffith scored Maryland’s only goal of that game,  but has yet to experience any game action so far this season. 

Since joining the Big Ten, Maryland has a slight advantage over Penn State with a 5-4-3 record against the Nittany Lions.