In its nightmare 2023 season, Maryland men’s soccer won four penalties and missed all four.
In 2024, Leon Koehl’s ability to do exactly the opposite has helped the Terps earn positive results three different times.
On Friday night, Maryland went on the road to Indiana, and after an extensive weather delay secured its second straight victory to open conference play.
As the ball was kicked off for the Terps’ second conference match, they stood on a pitch that wasn’t Ludwig Field for the first time in six games.
The Terps quickly silenced any concerns that a road environment would rattle them. They opened the game looking very composed, working the ball around and trying to find gaps in the Hoosiers’ back line.
They were unable to find any, though, as the game’s first 20 minutes passed without a true chance.
With around 15 minutes to play in the half, Indiana seemed to find a source of inspiration in front of their home crowd, as it suddenly found its way into the game.
The Hoosiers’ best chance came when top scorer Tommy Mihalic curled a shot towards Laurin Mack, who parried it away. Mack made a career-high five saves en route to Maryland’s second-straight clean sheet.
The Terps withstood the flurry of Indiana offense while working to find an opportunity of their own. Costabile drew a one-on-one with Hoosier’s keeper JT Harms on the other end, but was denied.
With five minutes to go, Colin Griffith collected the ball near the left edge of the 18-yard box and beat his man with a lightning-quick change of pace. Indiana’s Breckin Minzey tried to regain his ground, grabbing a fistful of his jersey and sending him to the ground for a penalty kick.
As he has done every time this year, Koehl confidently slotted it in the bottom corner, sending Maryland into the locker room for halftime with a 1-0 lead.
The Hoosiers came out of the locker room with a fire, unleashing about 15-straight minutes of pressure on the Terps defense, but the Terps’ defense continued to stand tall.
Immediately before the weather delay, the Terps got their best chance outside of the penalty, as they unleashed winger Sadam Masereka with a through ball. The defenders stood no chance of catching him as he got one-on-one with Harms, but Harms made a nice stop with his left arm.
Coming out of the weather delay, both teams put one shot on frame and a late save from Mack helped preserve Maryland’s victory.
Three things to know
1. Terps and Cirovski get one back. Indiana, led by legendary head coach Todd Yeagley, are one of the only programs that have gotten the better of Maryland during head coach Sasho Cirovski’s tenure. With the win, the Terps under Cirovski improved to 6-8-8 against the Hoosiers.
2. Ndrenika’s return. This was the first game in 2024 where Albi Ndrenika has been healthy enough to be in the Terps’ starting 11, and his positive on-field impact was clear. He is instrumental in helping Maryland control possession in the middle of the field as well as its offensive build-up play.
3. Bizarre weather delay situation. The referee went to check with an Indiana sideline official on the situation regarding the inclement weather with 20:50 left in the game. The referee spent at least a minute deliberating before determining play would resume. 30 seconds later, the game was suspended. If the clock had made it to 20:00, Maryland’s result would have been finalized Friday night.
