No. 20Â Maryland (1-1-1)
at.
Virginia (2-1-0)
September 4, 2023
Klockner Stadium
7:00Â p.m.
ACCNX
COLLEGE PARK, MDÂ -Â No. 20 Maryland travels to face Virginia as the two programs face off for the 84th time in the most storied rivalry in men's college soccer. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., at Klockner Stadium and the matchup will be shown on ACCNX. Fans can also listen to the match on WMUC Sports.
The Terrapins are have played three ranked teams to begin the 2023 season and are coming off a hard fought draw with No. 16 Wake Forest on Friday in front of over 4,500 fans at Ludwig Field. The Terps have notched back-to-back clean sheets and have not given up a goal for their last 239 minutes of play.
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setting the stage
- The last four times the Terps and Cavs have faced off, it was hosted at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. The Terrapins have won the last two contests between the two teams, including a 6-1 victory last year.Â
- This is the first time the Terrapins have played in Charlottesville since departing the ACC in 2013. The Terps are 5-3-4 overall and 2-0-0 at Ludwig Field against ACC opponents since joining the Big Ten.Â
- The Terrapins enter the 2023 season following a 2022 campaign in which they won the Big Ten Regular Season Championship and made the NCAA Tournament for the 40th time in program history. The Terrapins boasted an 11-4-5 record and went unbeaten in conference play (4-0-4).Â
- Maryland has notched 28 consecutive fall seasons with 10+ wins. Maryland's last fall season without 10+ wins was Sasho Cirovski's first year as head coach in 1993.Â
- The Terrapins were chosen as the Big Ten favorite in a preseason poll of the conference's coaches. Alex Nitzl, Stefan Copetti and Bjarne Thiesen were chosen as the Terps' Big Ten Players to Watch.
- An All-American at West Virginia entering his first season as a Terp, Thiesen was also named a United Soccer Coaches National Defender to Watch.
- Maryland's schedule features nine matches with teams that advanced to the 2022 NCAA Tournament and its first five matches are against teams that were ranked or getting votes in the preseason United Soccer Coaches Poll.Â
Stefan Copetti is a Big Ten Player to Watch in 2023 after scoring six goals and adding three assists last season.
Meet the 2023 Terps
- The Terrapins return a group that includes four returning starters and five key contributors. They also add 10 freshmen and a transfer.
- Maryland will be led by senior captain Alex Nitzl, a three-year starter and the men's 2022 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner for Maryland. Last year, he started all 16 matches he played and recorded four assists. He was also an Academic All-Big Ten selection. The Munich, Germany native enters 2023 with 39 starts and will be featured as a midfielder or on the back line. Read more about Nitzl.
- Fellow senior Stefan Copetti will anchor the Terps' attacking set up. The Canadian (6g/3a in 2022) is a Big Ten Player to Watch after scoring Maryland's most important goal of 2022, a final minutes header that clinched the Big Ten Regular Season Championship for the Terps on the final day of the regular season.Â
- Senior Jamie Lowell will step in between the sticks following the departure of All-Big Ten pick Niklas Neumann, Lowell has made 18 starts as a Terp and will be backed up by a pair of talented local keepers in Mikah Seger and Saxon Wolcott.Â
- Bjarne Thiesen, a 2021 All-American at WVU, headlines Maryland's back line. He will be joined by fellow center back William Kulvik, who was named a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week twice last season, left back Luca Costabile (2022 Big Ten All-Freshman Team) and right back Kento Abe, the Terps standout player in their foreign tour to Portugal.Â
- The combination of sophomores Brian St. Martin, Mack DeVries and freshman Joe McDaid will give the Terps cover at center back. Freshman Tyler Prebenda, who enrolled in the spring, will factor in as an outside back option, along with Dalton Hass.
- Maryland's midfield will be anchored by Nitzl and sophomore Albi Ndrenika, who came on late for the Terps with a pair of goals in the NCAA Tournament in 2022. Redshirt junior Joe Suchecki provides experience for the Terps in midfield having played 30 matches in his career. Speaking of experience, Justin Harris and his 60 career matches returns for a fifth season as an option in the midfield and attacking wide positions for the Terps.Â
- A number of younger players will factor in to the midfield for Maryland. Sophomore Matias De Jesus, and freshmen Jack McDaid, Kenny Quist-Therson, Leon Koehl, Cameron Gerber and Henrik Sakshaug will all battle for minutes at the position.
- Joining Copetti in the more advanced positions is a pair of sophomores in Colin Griffith and Max Riley, who both tallied game winning goals for the Terps last season. An infusion of freshmen in Kimani Stewart-Baynes and Luke van Heukelum gives the Terps new looks in the attack. Senior and former JUCO All-American Seungeon Kim gives Cirovski another experience option up top.Â
Senior Captain
Alex Nitzl will be among Maryland's most influential players in 2023.
Sensational Sasho
- Hall of Fame head coach Sasho Cirovski is on the sidelines for his 31st season as the head coach of the Terps. Cirovski has led the Terps to a trio of national titles (2005, 2008, 2018) and 16 conference titles.
- Cirovski was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2022 after leading Maryland to its first conference regular season title since 2016.
- Cirovski's 29 NCAA Tournament appearances rank him first in the history of NCAA Division I soccer (27 at Maryland, two at Hartford). He has guided the Terps to nine appearances in the College Cup.
- Cirovski has won 452Â matches and is the second winningest active coach in Division I. He has the 13th-most wins in Division I history.Â
Sasho Cirovski, one of the greatest coaches in NCAA men's soccer history, captured his 16th conference title last season
Sustained Success
- Maryland has made 22 straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, the second longest active streak in the nation, and has made 40 appearances in the NCAA Tournament overall.Â
- The Terps have won four national titles (1968, 2005, 2008, 2018) in school history and reached the round-of-16 in 19 of the last 29 years.Â
- Maryland is 61-32-8 all-time in its 101 NCAA Tournament games, the 61 wins is fifth all-time in Division I history. Â
- The Terps are 48-21-7 under Sasho Cirovski in the NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins have won three national titles since 2000, tied with Stanford and Indiana for the most in the nation in that span.Â
- The Terps have won six total Big Ten trophies since entering the league in 2014. The Terrapins captured the 2022 Big Ten Regular Season Championship on a dramatic final day of conference play. Stefan Copetti's 87th minute header gave the Terps a 1-1 draw against Indiana and lifted them to the title.Â
- The Terps finished the conference season unbeaten for the first time since 2016, which was also their last Big Ten Regular Season title.Â
Maryland is among the best program's in men's college soccer history, capturing three national titles, the last coming in 2018.
World travelers
- The Terps enter the 2023 fall season following a spring season in which they traveled to Portugal for a 10-day tour of the country in March.Â
- The Terps explored the historic cities of Porto and Lisbon. They also played matches against reserve/youth sides of Vitoria S.C., Braga and Benfica.Â
- To read more about the Terps' trip to Portugal, check out the Terps in Portugal daily blog.Â
The Terps took a 10-day trip to Portugal, highlighted by three matches and cultural immersion experiences.
A legacy of excellence
- Maryland is the preeminent producer of professional soccer talent among college teams in the United States. Maryland is the only school with alums that have been rostered in the last four FIFA Men's World Cups.Â
- Seven players have been named to FIFA World Cup squads: Dayne St. Clair (2022, Canada), Rodney Wallace (2018, Costa Rica), Omar Gonzalez (2014, USA), Graham Zusi (2014, USA), Maurice Edu (2010, USA), Clarence Goodson (2010, USA), Desmond Armstrong (1990, USA).Â
- 22 Terps have appeared for full national teams. Four Terps have appeared in the Olympics. Thirteen Terps have appeared for the US Men's National Team.
- Maryland has had 53Â players selected in the MLS SuperDraft, including three No. 1 overall selections, since the league's inception and has become the best producer of professional soccer talent in the United States among men's college programs.Â
- Head coach Sasho Cirovski has developed seven MLS homegrown signees, eight MLS All-Stars, six MLS Best XI selections and winners of all of Major League Soccer's major individual awards.Â
- Maryland currently has 12Â alums playing in MLS and 22Â alums playing professional soccer at various levels worldwide.Â
2018 national champion Dayne St. Clair, pictured at the 2023 Gold Cup, was Maryland's last player to be included a FIFA Men's World Cup Roster.
Ludwig Field
- Since its opening in 1995, Ludwig Field has been the home of the Terrapin men's and women's soccer teams.
- The Terps routinely rank among the top-five in the nation in attendance, including ranking No. 1 in attendance in 2016 and 2019.Â
- Friday Night Light matches at Ludwig Field has become the best home environment in the nation. The since 2010, the Terps have had ten crowds of over 7,000 in those big stage affairs.Â
Maryland's notorious student supporters club, The Crew, gives Ludwig Field the best atmosphere in men's college soccer.
Click here for complete Game Notes
