COLLEGE PARK, Md. - It might be 2015 but 13 is the key number for the Maryland men's soccer program as it begins its quest for a third consecutive conference sweep of both the regular season and tournament titles.
The Terps – ranked 13th in the NSCAA Preseason Top 25 poll - welcome 13 newcomers as it looks to advance to its 13th Sweet Sixteen in the last 14 seasons. Head coach Sasho Cirovski, now entering his 23rd year at the helm of the decorated Terrapin men's soccer program, is excited to begin the 2015 campaign after a disappointing exit from the NCAA Tournament in 2014.
“We are extremely excited for the upcoming season. We have had a very productive spring and summer,” Cirovski said. “We're extremely disappointed with the way our season ended last year (a second round loss to eventual College Cup participant UMBC). Our players are highly motivated. They were on the field the next day after the loss last year.”
The Terps will undoubtedly have a new look this season with the addition of 13 new faces, including a stellar 11-member freshmen class, lauded highly by multiple media outlets.
Cirovski and his staff welcome freshmen Connor Smith, Sebastian Elney, Amar Sejdic, DJ Reeves, Andrew Samuels, Jorge Calix, Eryk Williamson, Paul Bin, Aaron Franco, Diego Silva, and Dayne St. Clair, two-time JUCO All-American Ivan Magalhaes and redshirt senior St. John's transfer Cody Albrecht.
“We are thrilled to welcome a top recruiting class in the country,” Cirovski said. “Preseason has gone extremely well. We've worked hard and we've improved. We're motivated for our opening game against Notre Dame.”
Leading the way as returners for the Terps this season are Big Ten Players to Watch Mael Corboz, Tsubasa Endoh and Chris Odoi-Atsem.
Corboz, a senior midfielder, was named the Big Ten Tournament Most Valuable Offensive Player after guiding the Terps to their first-ever Big Ten tournament crown. Corboz was also a First Team All-Big Ten pick after leading the league in goals scored (10).
Endoh, despite an injury-shortened season, started in all 16 games he appeared in after being named a Big Ten Conference Player to Watch in 2014. The midfielder tallied one goal against then-No. 3 Penn State and Hartwick and added a pair of assists.
Odoi-Atsem was a First Team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore last season after starting in 21 games and helping the defense secure nine shutouts.
Corboz and Odoi-Atsem joined junior defender Alex Crognale at the US Soccer College ID Camp in Carson, Calif., in early August.
“It was great to be with a lot of really talented players who we normally line up against,” Corboz said. “It was a tremendous experience to be in that setup and get integrated with the national team staff. I think all three of us took a lot from the camp and we are ready to put it into play as we look to lead our team here in College Park in 2015.”
Other returners include seniors David Kabelik and Dakota Edwards, juniors Michael Sauers and Suli Dainkeh, and sophomores George Campbell, Christoffer Wallander-Ianev, Jake Areman, and Emmanuel Korvah. The group will work to replace Dan Metzger, Alex Shinsky and Mikey Ambrose, who all headed to the professional ranks following the 2014 season.
“We have a great group of returning players,” Cirovski said. “They are terrific leaders and setting the standard of what Maryland soccer is all about.”
With the loss Zack Steffen, one of the top goalkeepers in Maryland history and USMNT U-20 standout, to SC Freiburg of the Bundesliga, the starting job is a two-way competition with redshirt junior Cody Niedermeier currently leading the way over the freshman Canadian product St. Clair.
“We have two outstanding goalkeepers competing for the starting position,” Cirovski said. “Cody has been one of the great servants of our program but unfortunately he's had two season-ending injuries in his first three years. He had a very good spring for us and continued with a really good summer and a strong preseason. Dayne is an extremely talented goalkeeper. We can expect to see both of them play during the first month of the season.”
As Maryland prepares to attack its second season in the Big Ten Conference, they'll have a slew of challenging non-conference tilts along the way as well, as is the usual for Cirovski and the Terps.
“If you look at our schedule, it's very daunting and that's the way we like it at Maryland,” Cirovski said. “We open up and play the best teams in the country. Of the 17 teams on our schedule I think all 17 are NCAA tournament-caliber teams. We know we may have some growing pains but we're very confident that when it's all said and done at the end of the year this team will contend for championships.”
Maryland begins its 2015 slate with a trip to Bloomington, Ind., where it will face Notre Dame on Friday and St. John's on Sunday in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. The Terps battle UCLA on Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network in the home opener at Ludwig Field.
