COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The No. 25 Maryland men's soccer team will look to continue its strong home start as they welcome Northwestern to Ludwig Field for the Big Ten opener for both sides. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and fans can watch the action live on BTN Plus or listen on WMUC.

Storylines

• Maryland enters Friday's contest after a pair of home victories. The Terps used a 76th minute goal from junior Ben Di Rosa to defeat Villanova, 1-0, on Monday night. The goal was the second of Di Rosa's career and helped him earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors. 
• Maryland defeated Akron, 1-0, last Friday night, matching the scoreline from the team's clash in the national title match last December. Junior Eric Matzelevich's 18 minute strike proved to be the difference as the Terrapins showed well against a quality Zips side. Matzelevich has now scored twice this season.
• The Terps have opened up the season with three consecutive clean sheets at home, the first time Maryland has held opponents scoreless at Ludwig Field to open a season for that long in 20 years. 
• The Terps will face off with Northwestern for the sixth time in program history on Friday with all five previous meetings coming in the last five seasons. The Terps hold a 3-2-0 advantage in the all-time series and Maryland took down the Wildcats, 2-1, in overtime last year with two goals from sophomore William James Herve. 
• Maryland rebounded with two concecutive wins after losses in rivalry matches to Virginia and  UCLA. The Terps battled hard against the Bruins, but were unable to find a second half equalizer and fell 3-2. Matzelevich scored his first goal of the season in the match while sophomore Brayan Padilla scored the first goal of his college career. 
• The Terps have started the season stronger offensively this season than in their title season last year. The Terps have five goals in their first five matches in the current campaign after not netting a goal in their first four matches of 2018. 
• The Terps opened the 2019 season with a 1-0 win over USF at Ludwig Field. Freshman Malcolm Johnston netted the winner off an Eli Crognale assist in the 70th minute. The Terps outshot the Bulls 10-2 during the match. Maryland is now 15-6-6 under Sasho Cirovski in season openers and are undefeated in its last nine (8-0-1) home openers. 
• In 2018, Maryland went 9-1-1 down the stretch and did not give up a goal over five matches in the NCAA Tournament to eventually capture the national championship. The title was the third under head coach Sasho Cirovski, who is in his 27th season in charge of the Terps.
• The Terps entered the season as the No. 1 team in the country. Maryland was not ranked in the entirity of the 2018 regular season.