No. 8 Maryland men’s soccer (9-2-4, 4-0-3) travels to Bloomington to face Indiana (8-3-5, 3-1-3) in its final regular season match, with lots at stake.
Following a dominant 4-1 win over Delaware their last time out, the Terps have put themselves in position to clinch their first Big Ten regular season title since 2016, and their first trophy since winning the 2018 National Championship.
“I think I’ve made it very clear that we’re not happy that we haven’t picked up a trophy since 2018,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “There’s been reasons for that with injuries and key departures at key times and COVID. But, we’re playing for a trophy on Sunday.”
While Maryland struggled for a three-game stretch prior to the Delaware match, things got back on track for Cirovski’s squad on Tuesday night.
The Terps outpaced Delaware in every major statistical category, including doubling their shot attempts, 10:5.
Maryland held a commanding 3-0 lead at the end of the first period thanks to goals from midfielders Griffin Dillon and Justin Harris and forward Stefan Copetti. The dominance continued in the second half as, outside of a goal in the 86th minute from Delaware midfielder Orri Thorhallsson, Maryland’s defense remained stellar to come out with the victory.
Now heading into a Sunday afternoon match against Indiana — with a Big Ten trophy on the line — the Terps are confident in their abilities and have belief in one another.
“This is what we want to do,” Cirovski said. “We want to be playing on the last day of the year for something meaningful, and we are, so we’re excited for that challenge.”
A challenge indeed awaits, as the Hoosiers have been one of the most competitive teams in the Big Ten this season with the third-best scoring margin in the conference. Indiana also holds the third-highest scoring average and ranks second in goals scored with 31, behind only Rutgers.
“Indiana is one of the biggest teams in the Big Ten, probably our biggest rival,” Dillon said. “We got to go there and get a good performance, and I think we’re capable of doing that.”
Heading into the last day of the regular season, the Big Ten standings are about as tight as one could have projected. Three teams are still in the hunt for the number one spot: Maryland, Ohio State and Indiana.
Ohio State faces Wisconsin at 1 p.m., and would need both a win plus a Terps loss or tie to claim the trophy. If the Buckeyes tie against the Badgers and Maryland loses, each team will claim a share of the trophy.
Indiana would need even a bit more luck than that, as it would require a win over Maryland plus an Ohio State loss to take the trophy. A Hoosier win and an Ohio State draw would create a two-way claiming of the title as well.
With so many possible outcomes and the stakes as high as ever, the Terps need to enter Sunday with the utmost confidence and trust in the work they’ve put in throughout the season.
“We know we’re playing for a championship on Sunday,” senior defender Chris Rindov said. “So everyone’s kind of got that message.”
The Hoosiers are paced by redshirt senior forward Ryan Wittenbrink, who has a team-leading 18 points on the season, including six goals and six assists. Forward Tommy Mihalic is tied with Wittenbrink for the lead in goals. Defender Nyk Sessock leads Indiana in assists with seven.
Start time is set for 1 p.m., and the match will take place at Jerry Yeagley Field in Bloomington.
