Maryland men’s soccer continues to roll along in its masterful season highlighted by an undefeated record in conference play, a Big Ten regular season title and now a quest to win the Big Ten Tournament.
Following its quarterfinals victory over the Northwestern Wildcats, No.1-seed Maryland is set to host No. 4-seed Indiana on Wednesday.
The Terps pulled out a gutsy win last Friday in a match that didn’t look like a No. 1-seed against a No. 8-seed. Northwestern came into College Park with lots of confidence, and considering it faced the same challenge last season and upset the Terps, 3-1, Maryland knew what its opponent was capable of.
The match was tight the entire way through, but there were especially tense moments in the second half when the Terps seemed to have countless opportunities to score but couldn’t capitalize.
Northwestern goalkeeper Christian Garner put on a remarkable display — making six saves — including some highlight-worthy ones to keep his squad within striking distance the whole way through.
Despite the effort from Garner, the Northwestern offense didn’t look quite as sharp. The Wildcats registered zero shots in the second half and only five total en route to being shutout.
Maryland’s defense also played a large role in Northwestern’s struggles, being physical throughout and making life as difficult as possible for the opposing players. The three leading point-getters for Northwestern were held to a combined two shot attempts and one shot on goal.
“It’s just really relaxing to know that they got it locked down and they’re playing their game,” forward Colin Griffith said. “It’s a blessing to be able to have that in the back.”
While the defense looked extremely sound for Maryland, the offense was a little more shaky to begin the bout.
A Stefan Copetti header in the 24th minute -– the first of only three shots in the first half –– was the Terps’ best look for the majority of the period.
That changed when midfielder/forward Joshua Bolma drew a foul in the box, leading to a Malcolm Johnston penalty kick. The midfielder, who had been a perfect 4-4 on penalty shots in the regular season, blew the attempt as the ball ricocheted off the crossbar back into the field of play.
It wouldn’t be the only penalty kick the Terps missed, as Bolma had an opportunity to vindicate Johnston in the second half but failed to do so. The last time Maryland missed two penalty kicks in a game was Oct. 6, 2017 in a win over Ohio State.
Maryland’s improved second half efforts led to 10 shot attempts in the second half, six of them on target –– including the game-winning goal by Griffith in the 76th minute.
“I thought the second part of the first half we started to take control, but the second half was all us,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “That was more like Maryland soccer.”
The Terps now turn their attention to Indiana, who defeated No. 5-seed Penn State 1-0 in the quarterfinal round. A Ryan Wittenbrink goal in the 36th minute propelled the Hoosiers past the Nittany Lions.
The forward now has eight goals and six assists on the season, good for a team-high 22 points. Other threats on the Hoosiers include forwards Tommy Mihalic and Herbert Endeley, with 14 and 11 points on the season, respectively.
No other Hoosier has reached double digit total points, but Indiana’s balanced offensive attack has led it to the second-most goals scored in the Big Ten.
The Hoosiers will certainly come into College Park with a chip on their shoulder following the last match between the clubs just over a week ago.
Maryland traveled to Bloomington and tied 1-1 on a last minute Copetti goal, earning the point needed to claim the Big Ten regular season title outright and spoil Indiana’s opportunity to earn a share of it.
Every moment that [Indiana’s] got, they’re going to try and get revenge on us,” defender Chris Rindov said. “Just keeping that energy high is going to be most important.”
The match is set for 8 p.m. and will take place at Ludwig Field in College Park.
If the Terps defeat the Hoosiers, they will advance to the finals to take on the winner of No. 2-seed Ohio State vs. No. 3-seed Rutgers.
