With Northwestern pressuring to strike first, midfielder Paul Son’s header was blocked right in front of the net.
Wildcat forward Christopher Thaggard, standing to the right of Son, collected the ball off the rebound, sending a shot towards the back of the net. Maryland goalkeeper Niklas Neumann, still recovering from the last shot, couldn’t turn around in time to save Thaggard’s kick, allowing Northwestern to take the 1-0 lead and instill panic in the No. 8 ranked Terps.
Maryland fought back with a Stefan Copetti goal in the 74th minute. That would be all the scoring for either side on Sunday afternoon, as Maryland men’s soccer tied Northwestern, 1-1.
Key players for both sides were out in this match. For Maryland, midfielder Malcolm Johnston sat out due to a concussion suffered in the final minutes of the Rutgers bout. Northwestern’s leader in points, forward Justin Weiss, also missed the contest due to injury.
Maryland, looking to extend its unbeaten streak to eight straight games, came out firing to begin the match. Three early shot attempts, including one shot on target by midfielder Joe Suchecki, gave the Terps an early chance to score. But the sophomore’s shot towards the bottom left of the goal was saved by Northwestern goalkeeper Christian Garner.
Both sides seemed to miss the presence of their offensive stars in this one, as neither team threatened the goal much in the first half.
Northwestern seemed to have a lot of breakaway opportunities, the main source of their offensive looks in the first half. However, Maryland’s backline, led by senior defender Chris Rindov, consistently stopped the Wildcats’ attack on its side of the field.
Maryland’s offense in the first half moved at a much more methodical pace, attempting to string together short passes in its attacking third. The Terps outshot Northwestern 8:3 in the first 45 minutes, but neither side broke through for a score.
Maryland’s best chance to score in the first half came off a Joshua Bolma corner kick in the 44th minute. Bolma’s kick found Rindov, who passed to forward Stefan Copetti. Copetti headed the ball towards the net, but Garner made a tremendous save, tipping the ball over the crossbar, to keep the game knotted at zero heading into halftime.
Northwestern’s best chance yet to score came in the 51st minute after defender William Kulvik’s careless turnover. Northwestern midfielder Bardia Kimiavi raced up the left side of the field looking to score, but the Maryland backline once again held strong, forcing an errant shot above the crossbar.
The Wildcats came out as the more aggressive team to begin the second half, forcing the Terps to play on their heels and come up with some big stops.
Despite owning the heavy possession advantage to begin the second half, Maryland continued to struggle offensively, a rarity at this point in the season for the Big Ten leaders.
In the 61st minute, Thaggard found the back of the net on the rebound from Son’s header to break the scoreless tie.
With Maryland in desperation mode, trying to avoid a loss to the Big Ten bottom-feeder, defender Nick Richardson found Copetti on a back-post pass in the 74th minute. Copetti took the ball and put it through the back left of the net, evening the score back at one.
With both teams moving in a hurry to try and find the game-winner, Maryland midfielder Albi Ndrenika got a little too reckless in his first appearance as a Terp. The freshman, after checking in for midfielder Griffin Dillon, picked up a yellow card after mauling a Northwestern player. The Wildcats were unable to capitalize.
Neither team found a match-clinching goal, resulting in a 1-1 draw.
Northwestern did not seem to be phased by the top-ten ranked Terps on Sunday, standing up to the tall task and putting on a strong performance. Maryland, on the other hand, came up with a disappointing performance after the magical comeback against Rutgers on Tuesday. The offense struggled to create many chances despite having 15 shot attempts.
Maryland will be back in action Friday to take on Wisconsin from Ludwig Field. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.
