By Wesley Schnell
No. 10 Maryland Men’s Soccer headed to Rutgers for their final road match of the regular season. Maryland’s recent struggles continued as the Terps lost their second straight game, falling 3-1 to the Scarlet Knights Tuesday evening.
Maryland (8-3-5, 5-2-2) entered Tuesday following a 2-0 loss at Michigan, snapping its 12-game unbeaten streak it’s held since the end of August. Rutgers (5-9-2, 2-6-1) came into the game following a 2-0 road loss against Washington.
Rutgers got the action started in the second minute with a shot attempt by Devon Stopek that missed high over the net.
In the 5th minute, the physicality intensified as Luca Costabile received the first yellow card of many to come.
The early action continued in the 7th minute when a shot from Scarlet Knight senior midfielder Curt Calov, rocketed just under the crossbar. Maryland goalkeeper, Laurin Mack, was quick to react to earn a save.
The Terps had their first scoring chance in the 21st minute on a shot taken by Costabile that was sent towards the top of the net just under the crossbar, but the shot was denied by Scarlet Knight keeper Ciaran Dalton.
Just before the end of the half, Bjarne Thieson committed a foul inside the box that provided Rutgers a chance to go into halftime with a lead. Scarlet Knight forward Ian Abbey cashed in on a penalty kick as a result giving Rutgers a 1-0 going into the half.
The physical battle continued in the second half as each team opened the half with a foul.
In the 53rd minute, Terrapin forward Colin Griffith got a good look at the net, but wasn’t able to control his shot, missing to the right of the net.
Griffith got another good look at the net in the 57th minute, but Dalton made the save to spoil the attempt.
In the 63rd minute, the Scarlet Knights doubled their lead on a shot that was deflected in by Nico Rosamilia.
The Terps finally got on the board in the 72nd minute after a shot by William Kulvik was blocked by a defender allowing Matias De Jesus to cash in on the rebound to cut the Scarlet Knights’ lead to 2-1.
In the 87th minute, the Scarlet Knights were awarded another penalty kick that was taken by Aidan Flynn. Flynn faked out Mack and was able to score on the second penalty kick of the night for Rutgers solidifying its 3-1 victory.
The longtime rivalry was definitely present between the two teams in the game as both teams combined for 30 fouls and eight yellow cards — six of which belonged to the Terps.
The Terps will return to Ludwig field on Sunday for their last home match of the regular season. In what could arguably be their biggest match of the season, Maryland will face off against the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes.
