Preview: Maryland men’s soccer takes on Long Island in its return to the NCAA Tournament

Photo by Allison Mize/Maryland Terrapins

Maryland men’s soccer (8-5-5) received an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament and will host Long Island (8-4-7) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Ludwig Field. If the Terps win, they will travel to face No. 8 seed Wake Forest away in the second round on Sunday. 

Maryland returns to the NCAA tournament after missing out last year for the first time in 22 years as a result of going winless in conference play. 

“I think that’s where this program belongs,” center back William Kulvik said. “It’s below the standards to not make the tournament, and that should never happen. So seeing that we’re back, it’s a great feeling.” 

Maryland was riding an 11-game unbeaten streak earlier this year when the Terps lost key midfielder Leon Koehl to an injury against UCLA. Maryland scrapped its way to a draw against the Bruins and rose to No. 2 in the U.S. Coaches Poll. But the squad lost its next four games culminating in a 6-0 loss in a rematch against UCLA in the Big Ten tournament. 

Koehl’s injury wasn’t the only factor to derail the Terps’ momentum. Kulvik also missed the final regular season match against Ohio State and several other players weren’t playing at 100% in Maryland’s recent games. 

Injuries have plagued the Terps throughout the season as forward Luke van Heukelum has missed the majority of the season and midfielder Kenny Quist-Therson also missed a significant amount of time. Coach Sasho Cirovski said the team wasn’t happy to lose in the Big Ten tournament but it was a “blessing in disguise” because it gave the team two weeks to rest and recover. Koehl made a brief nine minute appearance against UCLA but will need to be back to full strength if Maryland is to make a long postseason run. 

“We have never been this healthy this year,” Kulvik said. We have 24 bodies back, and it’s the most we ever had and we got some of our key players back.” 

The Terps’ reliable defense helped the squad start strong, allowing multiple goals in just three of their first 14 games. But Maryland’s defense fell apart allowing more goals in their final five games than the first 13 of the year and tied for the second-most goals allowed of any Big Ten team. 

Maryland also struggled to score consistently late, netting just two goals in its final four games. There were early concerns about who would provide goals after van Heukelum went down with his injury, but Colin Griffith, Koehl, and Sadam Masereka all stepped up to play a major part in Maryland’s early season success.

Griffith scored a joint team-leading six goals in his most productive college season. But the junior’s form has dipped since he missed the match against George Mason with an injury and he hasn’t scored in 5 games.

Koehl leads the country with six goals scored from penalties. But the Terps haven’t been awarded a penalty in five games after winning six in the previous nine. Masereka has been one of the fastest players in the Big Ten but struggled to provide the finishing product outside of an earlier stretch of four games where the transfer scored three goals. 

Maryland previously lost to Long Island in the 2021 NCAA tournament first round.

The Terps will need to reset on both ends if they hope to advance past the second round for the first time since winning the national championship in 2018. 

“It’s a fresh, new start to the season, and we’re excited about it,” Cirovski said.