No. 23 Maryland men’s soccer looks to remain unbeaten vs Northwestern

Photo by Kevin Snyder/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

No.23 Maryland men’s soccer returns to Ludwig Field for another Big Ten match on Friday night against Northwestern at 7 p.m. 

Maryland’s (5-0-2, 1-0-1 Big Ten) match on Tuesday against Penn State (2-4-2, 0-2-1 Big Ten) ended in a 2-2 draw, similar to its 2024 match that ended in a 1-1 tie. In a chaotic second half, the Nittany Lions not only tied the Terps five minutes in, but took a 2-1 lead with six minutes left in the match. 

Penn State’s redshirt junior forward Christian Dionne’s goal in the 84th minute gave the Nittany Lions the lead nearly 12 minutes after Maryland lost its top goal scorer, sophomore forward Stephane Njike, to a red card. The penalty left the Terps down a player for the remainder of the game.

“We had to change formations when we realized we had the red card, and I still think we pushed for the win,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said. “We asked everyone to play an extra ten percent, and we got it.”

Maryland ensured its undefeated streak continued with a free kick goal by senior defender Lasse Kelp in the 86th minute, evening the score at two. The goal was Kelp’s first as a Terp after transferring from UMBC for the 2025 season. 

Friday night will mark the 15th match between Maryland and Northwestern (5-2-1, 1-1 Big Ten). The Terps won their last season’s match 2-1 and have beaten the Wildcats in five of their previous eight contests.

Maryland’s defense should be aware of midfielder Joe Suchecki’s positioning. The graduate student spent his first three seasons with the Terps before transferring to Northwestern for the 2024 season. While Suchecki notched just a goal and two assists last season, he is thriving this season. Suchecki leads the Wildcats with four goals and has already matched his assist total from his 2024 campaign.

The Terps should also be vigilant of midfielder Jayvin Van Deventer. The senior recorded the most individual shots during the 2024 match with four shots and one on goal. Van Deventer has recorded eleven shots so far this season, with five on goal, but has yet to find the back of the net.

Maryland’s sophomore Laurin Mack and Northwestern’s senior Rafael Ponce de León will be protecting the nets for this match once again. Mack recorded one save and allowed one goal during his 2024 match against Northwestern, while Ponce de León had two saves and allowed two goals. 

Mack has allowed six goals so far this season with a 0.793 save percentage, compared to Ponce de León, who has allowed nine goals and has a 0.735 save percentage. 

In conference games, Maryland holds an 8-4-1 conference record against Northwestern since joining the Big Ten.