With the clock winding down and the Hoosiers holding a 1-0 advantage, it seemed that Maryland’s poor offensive performance would allow Indiana to claim a share of the Big Ten regular season championship.
However, Maryland forward Stefan Copetti refused to bow down. In the 87th minute, the junior took a beautiful cross from midfielder Joshua Bolma, heading the ball through the back left corner of the net for the score.
Copetti blew kisses to the Indiana crowd before being mobbed by his teammates, as No. 8 Maryland men’s soccer claimed the Big Ten regular season title in dramatic fashion.
“The reason I came here was to win championships,” Copetti, a transfer from Marist, said. When I committed here, I told [Malcolm Johnston] over text ‘it’s time to win some rings here.’”
The first 20 minutes brought little action from either side, although the Hoosiers outshot the Terps by two. However, the momentum quickly began to shift towards Indiana when it drew three set pieces in about a three minute span.
The last of the three gave the Hoosiers the result they wanted, as a Malcolm Johnston foul set up an Indiana free kick just outside of the box.
Forward Ryan Wittenbrink took the free kick, sending a beautiful shot towards the top right corner of the net. The ball went over the outstretched arms of Maryland goalkeeper Niklas Neumann –– who virtually had no chance with the angle of the shot –– and sank into the back of the net for a score.
Maryland continued to struggle offensively, as its first shot on goal didn’t come until the 40th minute off a dribbler from forward Colin Griffith.
With a 1-0 lead for Indiana and nothing brewing for the Terps offensively, the Hoosiers seemed to be on their way towards stealing a share of the Big Ten regular season title.
Maryland didn’t flop over and admit defeat, as the offense came out in attack mode to start the second half. Copetti had a perfectly placed shot in the 48th minute that would’ve found the back of the net if it wasn’t for Hoosiers goalkeeper JT Harms making a diving save to his left.
“Obviously we generated some more chances going into halftime,” defender Chris Rindov said. “And then coming back out of halftime, we knew that this was the moment that we were going to have to step up.”
Indiana continued to create chances as the Maryland backline suffered through multiple sloppy turnovers. Sophomore defender William Kulvik gave the ball up in the 54th minute which led to a Patrick McDonald shot attempt, but Neumann saved the try. Just moments later, forward Herbert Endeley had a chance for the Hoosiers but his shot missed just wide right of the goal.
Indiana played a much cleaner match than Maryland and took advantage of a lot of the Terps’ mistakes. That seemed to be the theme for the majority of the afternoon, but Copetti’s desperation attempt in the final five minutes of play gave the Terps exactly what they needed.
Bolma sent a cross all the way out from the Big Ten logo towards Copetti, who was being pressed by a Hoosier defender. The forward broke free, jumping high to head the ball in for the goal.
“I saw [Bolma] get the ball, and I knew the first thing on his mind was whipping it across,” Copetti said. “I said in my mind that I needed to beat my man to the ball, and that’s what I did. I finished it nicely.”
Coach Sasho Cirovski made a conscious decision in the final minutes of the match to send more players forward on offense in hopes of scoring the game-tying goal.
“We knew with about 10 minutes to go that a tie was all we needed,” Cirovski said. “So we pushed more players forward, and we got appropriately rewarded.”
The frustrating moments of the first 85 minutes seemed to be suddenly lifted as Copetti was mobbed by his teammates in celebration. The Terps held strong for the final three minutes, earning the 1-1 draw against Indiana.
The Terps claimed their first Big Ten title since 2016, and their first trophy since the national championship in 2018.
“I’m incredibly happy for our players for the toughness and resilience that they showed,” Cirovski said. This is a team that has great character. They’re really fun to coach. They’re just made of the right stuff, and I think you saw that on display.”
