Preview: Maryland men’s soccer vs. Villanova

Maryland men’s soccer (2-6-2) looks to ride the highs of a win its last time out to defeat non-conference opponent in Villanova (1-4-4) and start its first win streak of the season on Tuesday. 

The Terps’ momentum comes from a necessary 1-0 shutout win over Bowling Green this past Saturday.

The Falcons hammered the Maryland back line straight out the gates, thinking to already have a go ahead goal in the 15th minute after a header by Eli Shope found its way over Terps goalkeeper Jamie Lowell. Except there was one problem — the offsides flag was raised — quickly stalling celebrations. 

Bowling Green once again thought it had an opportunity to jump ahead two minutes later when a Maryland defensive breakdown allowed Shope through, one-on-one with Lowell. But the keeper didn’t let himself get beat this time, stretching as he raced up to make the game-changing save.

“My defenders have my back all the time so I try and stay high on my line and have theirs,” Lowell said. “He came up, [I] tried to make myself big and he put it at me so [I’m] happy to make the stop.” 

Despite all the early chances for the Falcons, the Terps pulled it together to end the first half with a huge play by Stefan Copetti.

The forward received a flick onward by Colin Griffith and stormed past the entire Bowling Green defense. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, he didn’t disappoint, burying what was ultimately the winning goal on his senior night.

Copetti devoted the goal to his family, who was watching from the crowd.

“They’ve done so much for me to get me to this point — made a ton of sacrifices,” Copetti said. “I’m just so proud and happy that I was able to score in front of them.” 

Maryland held strong defensively the rest of the way, and with a pair of more Lowell saves, it found itselves with its first win since Aug. 27 versus UNC Greensboro.

“It feels great to finally get a win,” coach Sasho Cirovski. “We never lost belief…We challenge our guys to pay a little more attention to the details and I thought they played with great resolve, great effort and a great effort.” 

The Terps now look ahead to their next match versus the Wildcats just a couple days later.

The matchup will feature two head coaches with an abundance of experience at their schools. Villanova coach Tom Carlin has coached the school since 2008, while Cirovski has coached Maryland since 1993. 

This season has been a down one for both coaches by their standards. Both the Terps and the Wildcats made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament just last year — Villanova won its first NCAA tournament match in program history. 

The Wildcats haven’t found similar success this season, seeking just their second win of the campaign in this October contest. They’ve notched just four points in conference play, tied for third-worst in their conference. 

Still, Villanova is certainly capable of some surprising results, having tied with now-No. 23 Michigan State in early September. 

Carlin’s squad is led by a pair of junior forwards in Vincent Petrera and Balthi Saunders. The duo combine for nearly 50 percent of the team’s shots and shots on goal, and have ten and nine points, respectively, this season.

The Wildcats are not particularly strong defensively, allowing two goals per game thus far. They’ve registered just one shutout on the campaign.

Both teams will be fighting for momentum into the final stretch of the regular season as they hope to make a comeback near the finish line.

Kickoff at Ludwig Field is set for 7 p.m.