By Wesley Schnell
COLLEGE PARK, MD — Last year, Maryland men’s soccer missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 seasons. Doubling their win total from a year ago propelled the Terps to secure a spot back in this year’s tournament.
The Terps opened tournament play against Long Island University. An impressive late-game offensive display fueled Maryland to a 5-2 win over the road Sharks — securing its spot in round two.
“I’m absolutely delighted with the team’s performance tonight,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “It’s toughness, it’s resilience, and it’s quality.”
The Terps played this game with an extra chip on their shoulder, trying to rewrite history — as their loss in the 2021 NCAA Tournament was at the hands of the Sharks.
Maryland got its first shot off in the very first minute of play, taken by Colin Grifith that just missed to the left.
Maryland continued their strong attack early, getting on the board in the fourth minute. A shot by Grifith was blocked by the LIU defense, but Alex Nitzl was able to clean up the rebound and drill it into the back of the net — giving the Terps an early 1-0 lead. It was Nitzl’s first career goal for Maryland.
“It’s special,” said Nitzl. “I’ve been waiting for this and for it to finally happen, huge.”
The Sharks got their first good look in the 11th minute after two back-to-back shots were taken. One was blocked and the other was saved by Maryland keeper Laurin Mack.
In the 18th minute, Griffith got another clear look at the net. But after accelerating inside the box, he put too much power on the shot, sending the ball over the crossbar.
The Long Island defense stayed strong the remainder of the first period, setting multiple bodies in front of an array of Maryland shots, effectively holding Maryland to a narrow one goal lead.
The Sharks turned defense to strong offense, finding the equalizer in the 44th minute. A series of shots were fired at Mack that were blocked, but Shark forward Stephane Njike was able to secure a rebound and finally get a shot past Mack to tie the match late in the half.
Long Island only needed two minutes into the second period to take its first lead of the game. A cross from Niklas Thanhofer tied up Mack and the Maryland defense, and a Papa Sow tap-in gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead.
A 54th minute attack by Sadam Masereka was stopped after getting tied up by a Shark defender — resulting in the game’s first yellow card. Off the free kick from the yellow card, Max Rodgers sent a shot towards the net that missed wide above the crossbar.
The Terps broke through the Long Island defense on a home attack led by Masereka, before he was taken down inside the box. Officials brought the play to review to confirm the penalty.
Leon Koehl, entered Thursday perfect from the penalty spot this season, converted once more. He found the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season, all of which coming on penalty shots, to tie the game at two apiece in the 67th minute.
The Terps were awarded a corner kick a minute later, taken by Max Rogers. He sent it into the box, before the ball deflected back to Masereka — who proceeded to send the ball towards the net on a sweet volley. The rapid scoring put the Terps back in front.
The Terps weren’t done just yet.
In the 74th minute, Luca Costabile dribbled the ball down for the Terps, looking to set up an attack until he ripped a shot from well outside the box. It found the top left corner of the net to increase the Maryland lead to two.
Then, in the 85th minute, an attack down the right side of the field led by Masereka ended with a pass to the near side to Max Rogers. Another tap-in goal — this time from Rogers — gave the Terps a 5-2 lead.
“We knew that it was going to be that case, when we get one,” said Max Rogers. “The floodgates will open, and that’s exactly what happened in the second half today.”
17 shots with seven on target led a dynamic Maryland offense through the NCAA Tournament’s opening round. The Terps now prepare for a second round matchup with eight-seeded Wake Forest Sunday night.
