Questions swirled about Maryland men’s soccer’s ability to score goals heading into conference play.
The Terps have answered definitively three games into the Big Ten season, rattling off a third straight conference victory against Northwestern, 2-1, behind a dominant two-goal first half.
Maryland’s early-season games were marked by an inability to score goals in the crucial phases. As it has rebuilt momentum in 2024, a catalyst for its change has been the vastly improved play of forward Colin Griffith.
It took 12 minutes for Griffith to repeat his positive impact against Indiana, as he beat his defender and won a penalty. From there, Leon Koehl did exactly what he has done three times already this season, burying it to give Maryland an early 1-0 lead.
Griffith wasn’t done, though.
Less than 10 minutes later, he made a diagonal run into the Wildcats’ box and left back Luca Costabile skillfully rabona-flicked a ball right into his path. Griffith touched it with his right foot and hammered it into the top right corner for his third goal in four games.
Maryland couldn’t have hoped for a better start as it stared down a 2-0 lead just 20 minutes into the game. The rest of the first half ticked away quietly, with the Wildcats failing to force Laurin Mack into a save.
The Terps came out of the halftime locker room with a simple objective: protect their 2-0 lead and claim their third straight Big Ten victory.
Instead of packing it in and defending their lead, Cirovski’s team continued to apply pressure, searching for a third goal.
As a result, the Wildcats launched a counter-attack that Chris Steinleitner had to stymie with a slide tackle. The referee deemed the challenge worthy of a yellow card and Northwestern earned a free kick in front of midfield.
Collin McCamy launched the ball into the box towards Luke Shreiner, who headed down across the face of goal. The ball fell into the path of forward Chris Thaggard, who slotted it home, cutting Maryland’s lead in half.
All of a sudden, the tension seemed to increase a level on the Maryland sideline, as it fought tooth and nail to avoid letting a two-goal lead slip from its grasp.
After a series of lengthy reviews for possible penalties or red cards for Maryland in the game’s final 10 minutes, it seemed the Wildcats had a final chance that would allow them to equalize.
The ball was misplayed by multiple Maryland defenders and fell into the path of forward Thaddeus Dewing, who missed the entire frame of the goal from just past the six-yard box.
That proved to be the Wildcats final chance and Maryland headed home from Illinois, with a third straight victory in conference play.
Three things to know
1. Costabile continues to impress. If one was to give out Maryland men’s soccer awards in 2024, the team’s most valuable player would be Costabile. On top of defending well, he has given the team an added dimension when going forward and executed a beautiful assist on the Terps’ second goal.
2. The Terps’ defense continues to stand tall. Maryland’s defense has now conceded just one goal over its first three games of conference play. If Maryland can continue to defend in this manner, it will be a hard team to beat.
3. Another loss avenged. The Terps have now successfully avenged losses against three conference foes who took them down in 2023. Cirovski and the Terps’ “revenge season” is in full swing.
