No. 14 Maryland men’s soccer (2-1-1) hits the road for the first time this season in a matchup against No. 21 Georgetown (1-1-2) on Saturday.
The Terps enter the weekend following a 6-1 dismantling of Virginia, their most goals scored in a match since 2012.
The match against Virginia, a neutral-site contest at Audi Field, was the continuation of a long-lasting rivalry between the two schools, dating back more than 60 years. Maryland has now won its last two matchups against Virginia.
“It means a lot, selfishly, for me,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “It’s an important [win] because I came to Maryland chasing Virginia, and anytime we get a positive result it’s a source of pride.”
Against the Cavaliers, the Terps saw key offensive contributions from midfielders Malcolm Johnston, Justin Harris and Griffin Dillon, forwards Joshua Bolma and German Giammattei, and defender Chris Rindov.
Johnston, a senior, got the scoring underway for the Terps in the 21st minute with a penalty kick goal. It was the first goal of the season for Johnston, although he is already one away from tying his total as a junior.
20 minutes later, Harris followed up with a short-distance goal off a beautiful pass by Giammattei. Harris tapped the ball in after Giammattei carved up two Virginia defenders.
The floodgates opened in the final 45 minutes of action, as the Terps outscored the Cavaliers 4-1, looking unstoppable. The Cavaliers seemed lifeless as Maryland continued to pile on scores.
Bolma played well off the bench, as he notched one goal and two assists in just 18 minutes of action. Bolma, usually a starter, did not begin the match on the field due to an injury suffered in the prior game against Denver. He was listed as a gametime decision but made his presence felt in the second half.
Bolma assisted Rindov and Dillon in the 60th and 64th minutes, respectively. He followed up his assists with a goal of his own in the 75th minute, giving the Terps a comfortable 5-1 lead.
Maryland goalkeeper Niklas Neumann faced a season-high 14 shot attempts but only surrendered one goal.
Neumann, a senior, showed up big in one of the defining moments of the night, as he dove to his right to save a Leo Afonso penalty kick in the 55th minute. The save seemed to light a fire in his Maryland teammates, as four minutes later Rindov scored the goal that started a 3-0 run by the Terps.
Following that, the Terps never looked back and cruised to the final whistle, leaving Audi Field with a 6-1 victory.
The scoring has been spread out evenly through the Terps’ four matches, as all nine Maryland goals have been scored by different Terps. Bolma leads in assists (three).
On the other side, Georgetown has gotten off to an inconsistent start. The Hoyas enter off a 1-1 draw against Denver, a match in which they only had two shots on goal and 14 shot attempts total. The Hoyas will look to find their offensive output against Maryland, as outside of a 5-2 win against Temple, Georgetown has yet to score more than one goal in a game.
One player to keep an eye on for Georgetown is Jack Panayotou, who just earned Big East Freshman of the Week honors. Panayotu notched one goal and one assist in the Hoyas’ 5-2 victory over Temple last Friday.
Another freshman to look out for is forward Jacob Murrell, the team leader in goals (two).
The two programs won national championships in back-to-back years, as the Terps took the crown in 2018 and the Hoyas won 2019.
In the matchup last season, Georgetown defeated Maryland, 1-0.
The match on Saturday will start at 1:00 PM and will take place at Shaw Field.
