Maryland men’s soccer entered a highly contested non-conference matchup against the Pittsburgh Panthers and head coach Sasho Cirovski gave freshman Rocket Ritarita the start. 

Ritarita has proven his ability to play at a high level.  He leads the team with four assists and is a dominant physical force on the offensive side of the ball. 

“Rocket is just showing what a good player he is,” Cirovski said. “He is a nice blend of both Stephan and Sadam so it’s exciting when we can get them out there at the same time.” 

The Terps defeated the Panthers 2-1, knocking off the defending ACC champions. With the win, the Terps improved to 5-0-1 on the season, as putting Ritarita in the starting lineup proved to pay dividends. 

The Terps entered this game with their best record, 4-0-1, since 2022. They also held a 4-0 all-time record against the Panthers in their first matchup since 2013. 

There was not much separating either team through the first half of play, with the best chance of the night coming from sophomore Stephane Njike. 

The Panthers got hot early, with two shots coming from Josh Hardin and Gavin Wetzel. Besides that, the Terps’ goalkeeper, Laurin Mack, wasn’t tested in the first half.

The Terps have played their best soccer all year during the second half. Prior to tonight’s game, 11 of their 16 total goals were scored in the second half. That trend was evident again on Friday,

“At halftime we talked about how we have done everything right except really been a lot more clinical. Chris had a great chance on a corner and a header, we had a couple of knockdowns,” Cirovski said. “[Njike] had a couple of shots near post. I thought we did well, but we had nothing to show for it. Then in the second half, it was just a lot more quality when we got the ball.” 

In the 48th minute, Njike made it 12-of-17. Junior Leon Koehl delivered a beautiful through ball to senior Sadam Masereka, who whipped it over to Njike. The left-winger netted the first goal of the game. 

The Panthers generated a plethora of opportunities in the second half, but the Terps’ defensive unit stood tall.

Later in the 83rd minute, senior Masereka found himself on a breakaway from an overhead pass by junior Kenny Quist-Therson. Masereka buried his third goal of the season to give the Terps some insurance that proved to be very important.

In the 89th minute, Pitt scored its first goal of the game. Jakob Lopping squeaked one past Mack, spoiling the shutout. This was Maryland’s first goal allowed in open play.

The Terps’ next matchup is next Tuesday, September 23, at Penn State.