No. 4 Maryland men’s soccer came into Friday with its best record since 2017 with a 9-0-3 (5-0-2 Big Ten) record. The Terps have garnered national attention as they’ve prevailed to the top-5 in the country.
As No. 14 Indiana strolled into College Park, the momentum couldn’t have been greater. The anchor of this Terps team has been their defense so far, as goaltender Laurin Mack recorded six shutouts, and four in a row.
However, the Terps faced their biggest test yet, Palmer Ault. The senior forward for the Hoosiers is a juggernaut in the Big Ten, as he leads the conference in goals with 14, which is twice as many as the next best.
Ault found the back of the net once, but it wasn’t enough as Maryland took down Indiana, 3-2.
“He’s an outstanding player, he’s a proven top college player and he’s having the best year of his career here with a good Indiana team,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said of Ault. “I thought we did a good job of neutralizing him. When he gets the ball, he’s dangerous and when he scored, that was one of the few times that we kind of lost him in the box. He’s a top player, but nonetheless, he still ended up getting the goal.”
The first half consisted of a lot of back-and-forth play between both teams. Indiana tested Mack early, as they nearly struck first in the fifth minute, when a corner kick deflected off a Maryland player and fell into junior forward Collins Oduro, who sailed it above the crossbar. Their offense recorded a total of eight shots, three on goal, but Mack fended them all off.
Within the first three minutes of play, Indiana’s defender Ben Do received a yellow card for unsporting behavior after making a play at senior defender Luca Costabile’s ankles.
The Terps’ first real opportunity came in the 13th minute after a long possession, which ended by a shot from senior midfielder Joseph Umberto Piccotto
While the Hoosiers string together a couple of early shots, the Terps cashed in first in the 13th minute. After Costabile received a through pass from senior midfielder Albi Ndrenika, Costabile stuck it top right, as it slipped through the goaltender’s hands and in the back of the net for an early 1-0 Terps lead.
Freshman forward Rocket Ritarita entered the game in the 30th minute, and his impact was felt immediately, as his pass to Ndrenika set up a shot from just outside the box for Umberto Picotto, but it missed wide right.
The Terps continued to apply pressure in the second half, as freshman defender Farouk Cisse, sophomore forward Stephane Njike, and senior midfielder Leon Koehl had the half’s first three shots.
Later, in the 57th minute, the Terps found the back of the net again. Njike delivered a beautiful go-ahead pass to senior forward Sadat Masereka, who slipped it right past the goaltender for the Hoosiers.
Frustration arose for the Hoosiers as their leading goal scorer, Palmer Ault, was rewarded a yellow card for unsporting behavior after shoving senior defender Lasse Kelp near the sideline.
In the 63rd minute, the Hoosiers made things interesting, spoiling Mack’s four-game shutout streak. Indiana scored their first goal of the night. Sophomore midfielder Charlie Heuer scored an unassisted goal off a bullet to the bottom right corner.
Indiana gained some momentum and nearly tied the game in the 68th minute. An inside shot by freshman forward Nolan Kinsella ricocheted off the post, but almost snuck by Mack.
Just as the Hoosiers looked like they were about to find the equalizer, Njike strikes. Ndrenika played a beautiful through pass to Njike, who flipped it over the diving goaltender as it softly rolled into the net to give the Terps a 3-1 lead.
The Hoosiers wouldn’t go down easily, though, as the nation’s leading goal scorer made his first mark on the night. Ault netted his 15th goal of the season, giving the Hoosiers some life late in the second half.
Njike’s goal was enough for Maryland to secure the win, as they improved to 10-0-3 (6-0-2) on the season. Their next match is on Friday, Oct. 31, against No. 17 Washington.
