By: Justin Fitzgerald
Since joining the Big Ten in 2014, the only team Maryland men’s soccer hadn’t beaten was Northwestern. The Terps lost in overtime on a controversial call in 2014, and in 2015 despite outshooting the Wildcats 24-4.
But that changed Friday night, as Jake Rozhansky scored in the 11th minute and the Terps never looked back in a 4-0 win.
Maryland improved to 7-0-2 and 4-0-1 in the Big Ten with the win, while Northwestern dropped to 2-7-1 and 1-3-1.
The Terps had gotten off to slow starts in the past few games, but got out to an early lead on Rozhansky’s goal. Gordon Wild passed the ball to Amar Sejdic, who sent it to Sebastian Elney in the box. Elney then flicked it to Rozhansky, who put it away. It was the Virginia transfer’s third goal of the season, and he’s now scored in back to back games. Rozhansky looked to add to the Terps lead just two minutes later when he put a shot high.
He looked to create for his teammates as well, and sent a nice ball to Eryk Williamson in the 30th minute, but the sophomore couldn’t finish from close range on the left side.
Maryland’s defense shut down Northwestern on the opposite end of the field, giving up only three shots in the first half. The only way the Wildcats could get any offense was off corner kicks, with their best shot coming off one in the 41st minute when Willis Griffith put a header wide.
The Terps continued to dominate in the second half. Sejdic added to Maryland’s lead in the 50th minute, scoring off a rebound after Rozhansky’s shot was deflected by Francisco Tomasino. In the 61st minute, Wild got in on the action, adding a header for his ninth goal of the season.
Despite owning a 3-0 lead, Maryland continued to look for opportunities. In the 79th minute, D.J. Reeves got the ball past two defenders, and sent it to Diego Silva. Silva brought out Tomasino to the far left side of the goal, and Silva fed George Campbell on the right side, who finished it easily.
With the win, Maryland now has more points in Big Ten play (13) than they had all of last season (12). The Terps will look to stay unbeaten when they take on San Diego on Monday at Ludwig Field. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
