No. 11 Maryland men’s soccer entered Wednesday’s match with a simple mission. Win, and they secure their spot in the Big 10 tournament.
Led by Albi Ndrenika and Dominic Ayella, the Terps got the job done.
Maryland beat Penn State 2-0 on Saturday, securing their fifth-place spot in the Big 10 standings and their place in the conference tournament.
The two-goal victory is also the Terps’ first multi-goal win all season, a big boost to the team’s confidence heading into postseason play.
“We controlled the match,” Head Coach Sasho Cirovski said, “and now we get a chance to play a team we lost to earlier in the season. So I think we’re looking forward to that challenge.”
The Terps got started early, as just six minutes into the match, Penn State goalkeeper Justin Ross misplayed a pass out from the back, giving the ball directly to the Terps inside their half.
After a few passes outside the box, Henry Bernstein played a ball in the air towards Rodrigo Neri, who laid it off to Albi Ndrenika, who poked a shot from the top of the six-yard box just over the keeper, who got a hand on it but couldn’t keep it out of the net.
While the scoring started early, both teams couldn’t find the back of the net for the rest of the first period, and the game went into halftime at 1-0.
The teams finished the period with 18 total shots and had nine shots on target combined.
Just 12 minutes into the second half, Lilian Fichelle would play a ball over the top to Zach Harris on the right wing, who would play a cross right to the head of Dominic Ayella, who would find the back of the net, doubling the Terps’ advantage.
Unfortunately, the Terps ran into disciplinary issues later in the game, as in the 73rd minute, Ljubomir Popovic knocked down a Penn State attacker on a goal-scoring opportunity, and the ref assessed a red card.
The card takes Popovic out of the Terps’ first-round matchup in the Big 10 tournament, a loss that will require others to step up. Popovic has been crucial to the Maryland defense this year.
“You know that old adage, next man up. All year we’ve rotated the back line a little bit, so I think we have some experience with guys in different places.” Cirovski said.
Even with ten men, the Terps held on to the lead until the end of the second half, and the game ended 2-0.
The game featured quality attacking play from both sides, as the Terps and Nittany Lions combined for 33 shots, 17 on goal. Laurin Mack led the way for the Terps in net, finishing with eight saves.
“Even going a man down, we showed resilience,” Terps midfielder Albi Ndrenika said. “Kept the clean sheet, and got our first win by two goals, so I felt good.”
Maryland now looks forward to the first round of the Big 10 tournament, where they will travel to Bloomington to take on Michigan State, with the winner facing the regular-season champion Indiana Hoosiers. The Terps lost to the Spartans earlier this year.
The Terps finish the season with an 11-4-1 record. They finish 5-4-1 in conference play.
