No. 1-seed Maryland men’s soccer prepares for a matchup against No. 8-seed Northwestern in the Big Ten Quarterfinals at home in College Park.
The two teams faced off already once this season — the result a 1-1 tie on Northwestern’s home turf.
The draw marked the beginning of a tough stretch for the Terps, as they went on to tie or lose in three-straight matches. Maryland began to round back into form with its 1-0 victory over Michigan State on Oct. 21, however, and continued that strong play through the final two matches of the regular season en route to earning the top seed in the tournament.
The Terps are hoping for a better result this time around against the Wildcats, and having the home field advantage with the fans behind them should help substantially.
“Friday night games under the lights of Ludwig are just phenomenal and so much fun,” defender Alex Nitzl said. “It’s definitely gonna be an advantage for us.”
Maryland had a feel-good weekend last time out after drawing with Indiana on the last day of the regular season, securing the Big Ten regular season title in dramatic fashion.
After a free kick goal gave the Hoosiers a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute, Maryland struggled to find the equalizer, and entered halftime with five shot attempts but nothing to show for it.
Ohio State, who only trailed Maryland by one point in the standings, could have stolen the trophy had they defeated Wisconsin. However, upon learning that Ohio State was trailing and could lose, the Terps knew they controlled their own destiny.
“At halftime, Coach [Cirovski] told us that Wisconsin was up 2-0 [over Ohio State],” forward Stefan Copetti said. “So in my mind, I thought Wisconsin was going to hold on and a tie was enough.”
With the stage set and only a single goal needed to earn the title outright, Copetti took matters into his own hands.
In the final few minutes, Cirovski began pushing his players up the field in hopes of sparking a last-minute goal, while Indiana buckled down defensively, hoping to fend off the attack and earn a share of the regular season title.
For Maryland midfielder/forward Joshua Bolma, losing was not an option.
“I was looking at the time and it was like, four minutes left on the clock,” Bolma said. “And I was just thinking, ‘we’re not about to lose this game.’”
Bolma noticed the Hoosiers were sitting extremely deep in their own box, double teaming the Terps’ strikers in hopes of keeping the ball away from the net.
“I looked up, saw a couple of yellow shirts in the box, but also I saw [Copetti] raising his hand up,” Bolma said. “So I was like, ‘just put it back post.’”
Bolma perfectly executed his plan, sending a looping pass into the box for Copetti who rose above the crowd of defenders and headed the ball in for the score.
Copetti sprinted towards the sideline before being mobbed by his teammates who ran off the bench to celebrate. Maryland held on for four more minutes to claim the Big Ten regular season title outright.
Northwestern is led by a phenomenal goalkeeper in graduate student Christian Garner. Garner made multiple tough saves against the Terps in their previous battle, and he led the Big Ten in save percentage during the regular season.
Outside of Garner, Northwestern hasn’t seen a whole lot of productivity out of its roster. Leading points-getter, defender Ethan Dudley, put up an uninspiring 10 total points throughout the season, including four goals and two assists. After Dudley, the next highest point-scorers are midfielder Jason Gajadhar and forward Justin Weiss, tied at seven.
The lack of production for the Wildcats is evident in their overall rankings, as they placed second to last in goals scored and dead last in goals allowed in the regular season.
Despite only winning a single game in conference play, Cirovski feels Northwestern’s record doesn’t indicate the level its performed at recently, coming off the heels of a massive win over Michigan State to sneak into the final seed in the bracket.
“We weren’t happy with the tie at their place,” Cirovski said. “But that’s a long time ago … there will be no excuses. We just need to perform.”
The Terps will look to avoid a repeat of last year when they were upset by Northwestern at Ludwig Field in the quarterfinals.
The match Friday is set to begin at 7 p.m. If the Terps win and advance to the semifinals, they will face the winner of the Indiana-Penn State match on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
