No. 12 Maryland (5-1-4, 3-0-1 Big Ten) vs Michigan State (4-4-2, 3-1-0 Big Ten)
October 5, 2024
Ludwig Field
7:30 p.m. ET
B1G+
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- The No. 12 Maryland men's soccer team hits the field for its second home match of the week as they welcome Michigan State to Ludwig Field. The two programs sit No. 1 and No. 2 in the Big Ten standings early in the season, with the Terrapins sitting on 10 points and the Spartans with nine.
Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on B1G+.
The Terps returned home for its first home match in over two weeks on Thursday, playing to a 1-1 draw against Penn State. Neither team would get on the scoresheet in the first half, with Maryland's Colin Griffith opening the scoring in the 56th minute on a curling shot from just outside the box. However, Penn State would respond six minutes later, with Caden Grabfelder scoring from a direct free kick. The Terps had created multiple opportunities to find a deciding goal, but their efforts were stopped by Penn State's goalkeeper.
Scouting the Spartans
- Michigan State comes to College Park off consecutive wins in conference play. In their last match, the Spartans took a 1-0 win over Northwestern. The Spartans took the lead in the 63rd minute, with Jake Guggemos scoring the game-winning goal. Goalkeeper Zac Kelly kept Northwestern off the scoresheet, making four saves in front of goal.
- Jonathan Stout leads the Spartans with four goals through 10 games, which is tied for the fourth-most in the Big Ten. Shion Soga leads the Spartans in assists with two on the campaign.
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Kelly leads the Spartans in goal, as the redshirt junior has started in all ten matches. Kelly's 32 saves are the third-most in the Big Ten. Kelly has been steady in the net for Michigan State, with only 10 goals allowed this season for a GAA of 1.02.
Series History - Michigan State
- This will be the 20th all-time meeting between the Terps and the Spartans. The first came all the way back in the 1964 NCAA Tournament. The Terps hold the slight advantage in the series, with a record of 7-6-6.
- The Terps got the scoring started early in last season's match-up, with goals from Luke van Heukelum and Max Riley in the first 17 minutes to give them a 2-0 advantage. Michigan State would come back in the second half, with goals in the 59th and 77th minute to level the game at 2-2. Both teams created chances in the dying moments of the game, but the tilt would end in a 2-2 draw.
Kalm, Koehl, Kollected
- Sophomore Leon Koehl is tied for the team lead with four goals this season, with them all coming from the penalty spot. Koehl's effectiveness from the spot is much appreciated for the Terps, after the squad failed to convert on all four of their opportunities in 2023.
- Koehl is 4-4 from the penalty spot in 2024, the most since Malcolm Johnston scored four from the spot in 2022. Koehl's four penalty kick goals are the most in the Big Ten and is tied for the most in the country.
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Koehl scored from the spot in consecutive games for the Terps on two separate occasions this season. Koehl first accomplished the feat against Virginia on Sept. 2 and Sept. 6 against Brown. He scored from the spot in Maryland's last two games, with PK goals at Indiana on Sept. 20 and at Northwestern on Sept. 27. Koehl also joins Johnston, who scored penalty kick goals in consecutive games in the 2022 season vs. Virginia on Sept. 5, 2022 and at Georgetown on Sept. 10 2022.
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie
- Yale transfer Max Rogers has been a crucial part of Maryland's offensive effort. Rogers currently has five assists on the campaign, which is tied for the second-most in the Big Ten.
- Rogers had a hand in all three goals for the Terps in their conference-opening win over Wisconsin on Sept. 20. Rogers got his first assist in the game in the 17th minute, whipping a corner kick into the box to set up Chris Steinleitner for his first goal in a Maryland uniform. His second assist came just after halftime, delivering a free kick to the back-post for Bjarne Thiesen to double the Terps lead at 2-0. Rogers' final assist came in the 53rd minute, finding Colin Griffith in space for a shot just outside of the box.
- It marked the second consecutive season a Terps player had three assists in a game, with Luke van Heukelum picking up three assists in Maryland's win over Villanova on Oct. 10, 2023.
Max Rogers leads the Terps with five assists on the season. That total is tied for second-most in the Big Ten.
The Griffith Show
- With his 56th minute goal against Penn State, Griffith set a new career high for goals in a season with four. Griffith's previous season-best was three during his freshman season in 2022. It was his second consecutive game with a goal after scoring at Northwestern on Sept. 27.
- Griffith has now scored in consecutive games twice this season. Earlier this season, Griffith scored in consecutive games against San Diego State on Sept. 9 and then No. 8 Wisconsin on Sept. 13. It was the second time in his career that Griffith scored in consecutive games. Griffith last scored goals in back-to-back games on Nov. 4, 2022, against Northwestern and Nov. 9, 2022, against Indiana.
Griffith had his second consecutive game with a goal in Maryland's 3-0 win over Wisconsin. It marked the second time in his career that Griffith had back-to-back games with a goal, which occurred Nov. 4, 2022, against Northwestern and Nov. 9, 2022, against Indiana.
Let's Go Streaking
- The Terps have turned it on since a 2-0 loss to then No. 16 Georgetown. Since that defeat, the Terps have gone on an impressive unbeaten run.
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The 1-1 draw with Penn State on Tuesday extended the Terps unbeaten run to eight-straight games, with a record of 5-0-3 during the run. This tied the last such unbeaten run which occurred in 2022, when the Terps went unbeaten in eight games (6-0-2).
The Terps are unbeaten in their last eight games, with a record of 5-0-3 during the streak. This is the longest unbeaten streak since 2022, when the Terps went unbeaten in eight games (6-0-2).
