COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Colin Griffith scored the match's lone goal in the 76th minute to send the No. 7 Terps to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals with a 1-0 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats. 

With the win, the Terps, the top seeded team in the tournament, will host fourth-seeded Indiana in a semifinal matchup. That match will take place at Ludwig Field on Wednesday and it will air on Big Ten Network. The Hoosiers defeated Penn State 1-0 earlier in the evening to make it to the semifinals. 

The match was deadlocked at zero through the first 76 minutes of play until Griffith ended the scoreless tie. The two sides were relatively even through the first 45 minutes of action, but the Terps came out of halftime with constant offensive pressure and produced scoring chance after scoring chance. That attack finally paid off in the 76th minute as Griffith chased down a cross from Malcolm Johnston and was able to just get a touch on it to send the Terps to victory.

The Maryland defense was stout all game, but particularly in the second half where the Wildcats were held without a shot. Niklas Neumann notched three saves and recorded his second shutout of the season. 

The Terps were also able to avenge their loss to the Wildcats in the first round of last year's Big Ten Tournament at Ludwig Field. That year, the Wildcats advanced in a penalty kick shootout after a 0-0 draw.

Maryland improved to 10-2-5 overall while Northwestern, the seventh seed in the B1G tournament, dropped to 3-9-5 on the year. 

Coach Sasho Cirovski's Takes

"I want to say thank you to our amazing fans. I thought the Crew was out in full support and I thought they were fantastic, the community showed up and it was a wonderful night for soccer. Really happy for our guys to find a way to get a result. We got off to a little bit of a slow start...We grew into the game and I thought in the second part of the first half we started to take control, but the second half was all ours. That was more like Maryland soccer." 

"I thought he was great," Cirovski said of Griffith's role off the bench tonight. "Colin made a huge difference today. He's learning to play with greater intensity, he's holding the ball well for us, he was a pest for the entire 60 minutes he played. Again, I thought he made a huge difference in the game today. Almost every time he touched the ball something good happened and he competed real hard. I think he' s really starting to understand what it takes to play at this level and I thought he was fantastic."

Player's Perspectives

"This team is special," Griffith said. "We always believe we're going to get a goal. Two penalties missed, that rarely ever happens, but we bounced back, we always believed, we kept shooting and we got a goal." 

"It means a lot," Nick Richardson said of the postseason win. "I never want to stop playing here. It's awesome, it's a great feeling. The crowd today was incredible. Especially towards the end, I could feel the passion from everybody. It was kind of a moment to take in, so hopefully we continue to play in that.

The XI

Niklas Neumann (GK)
Luca Costabile (LB), Chris Rindov (LCB), William Kulvik (RCB), Nick Richardson (RB)
Griffin Dillon (MF), Malcolm Johnston (MF), Joe Suchecki (MF)
Stefan Copetti (F), Hunter George (F), Joshua Bolma (F)

Breaking Down The Action

• Northwestern was on the attacking front early, but Niklas Neumann came up with two diving saves to keep the match scoreless. 
• The Terps first good chance of the night came 23:26 into the match when Hunter George sent a cross to an airborne Stefan Copetti whose leaping header sailed just over the net. 
• At the 30:46 mark, Joshua Bolma was brought down in the box and drew a penalty kick for the Terps. Johnston took it and just missed, marking the first penalty kick he did not convert in five attempts this season. 
• The Terps had another strong scoring chance late in the first half with a penalty corner, but were unable to punch it through and the two teams went into the locker room in a scoreless tie. 
• Maryland opened the second half with the same offensive pressure, including a boot by Bolma to a streaking George that was swallowed up by Northwestern's Christian Garner in goal, a Bolma shot that sailed just wide off a cross from Johnston, and a Johnston opportunity alone in front of the net. 
• The Terps' aggressiveness paid off in the form of another penalty kick at the 61:31 mark, but Bolma's attempt was saved by Garner. 
• Griffith and Maryland finally broke the ice in the 76th minute as Johnston lifted a beautiful ball towards Griffith who tapped it into the net off a Garner deflection. 
• The Maryland defense held strong for the final 14 minutes of action to preserve the win. 

Notable Numbers

• 0: The Maryland defense held the Wildcats without a shot in the entire second half. 
• 2: Griffith's goal was his second of his freshman campaign and first since he scored the decisive goal in the Terps' season opener against New Hampshire on Aug. 25. 
• 4: The Terps are in search of their fourth Big Ten Tournament title since joining the conference in 2014. Maryland won three consecutive Big Ten Tournaments from 2014-2016, but has not reached the tournament final since 2016. 
• 5: The Terps put five more shots on goal than the Wildcats did, winning that battle 8-3. 
• 10: 10 of Maryland's 13 shots came in the second half. 
• 14: 14 of the Terps' 17 games have been one-score games. Maryland is 8-1-5 in those 14 matches. 

Up Next

• Maryland will host a Big Ten Semifinal Match on Wednesday against fourth-seeded Indiana. It will air on Big Ten Network at a time that is yet to be announced. 
• The Big Ten title game is Sunday, Sept. 13, at the site of the highest seed remaining.