Forging Their Identity

Maryland men’s soccer head coach Sasho Cirovski didn’t shy away from acknowledging last season's disappointment. 

However, Cirovski, one of the greatest coaches in college soccer history, welcomed nearly a dozen new faces from around the globe over the offseason to help propel his team back to prominence. The coaching staff and players used last season as motivation and are ready to return to competing for conference and national championships. 

“The coaching staff, the players and the fans all took last season to heart,” Cirovski said. “Because of its toughness and because it was hard to swallow for this program, we're committed to making sure that was a one-off, and we get back to looking like a Maryland soccer team that's tough to score against, and that is also able to score more goals than we did last year.”

A graduate defensive midfielder and team captain, Alex Nitzl, is one of the Terps’ undisputed leaders. The Munich, Germany has been a steadying presence over his 52 matches in College Park with his high soccer IQ and vocal leadership helping him become one of the most versatile players in the country. 

Consistently noted for his team-first mentality, Nitzl was Maryland's 2022 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner and received the 2024 Talbot T. Speer Award, given to a Maryland male student-athlete whose extraordinary commitment and dedication inspire teammates, coaches and fellow student-athletes. 

Nitzl missed the first few games of 2023 with an injury, allowing him to take a step back and lead his team from the sideline. With just one fall left in College Park, he’s committed to authoring a satisfying conclusion to his career. 

“This is my last college soccer season,” Nitzl said. “I want to end it on a positive note. I want to keep building my legacy here at Maryland and in college soccer.”

Nitzl’s versatility allows him to contribute in any spot on the backline, but he will feature in a central defensive midfield role to start the season, pairing with fellow German Leon Koehl, who started 13 games as a true freshman last season.

The midfield will also feature sophomore Kenny Quist-Therson, who also gained experience next to Nitzl in 2023 as a freshman. Cirovski is hoping for contributions from Albi Ndrenika, who was poised to be one of Maryland top contributors last season before missing the year due to injury. Junior Matias de Jesus adds additional reinforcement to the midfield. 

Maryland’s returners are a large part of the team's foundation in 2024. However, Cirovski also improved his roster with a plethora of talented new additions. The goalkeeper position was an area of emphasis with the additions of graduate student Hudson Blatteis from Brown, a Second-Team All-Ivy League selection in 2023, and freshman Laurin Mack from SC Freiburg of the German Bundesliga, who gained valuable experience with the Terps after joining the squad in the spring. They will battle for playing time with talented sophomore Saxon Wolcott.

“We have brought in two outstanding goalkeepers,” Cirovski said. “I think at this level you need to have top-notch goalkeeping, and I would say last year that’s an area of our team that was not up to the standard of past years.”

Those goalkeepers will be shielded by a backline that is the Terps’ most experienced unit. The center back pairing features senior William Kulvik, a 2023 All-Big Ten selection, and graduate student Bjarne Thiesen, a 2022 All-American at West Virginia. The duo has combined for 110 matches and junior left back and 2022 Big Ten All-Freshman Team pick Luca Costabile adds another 35 matches of seasoning to the group.

Returners Brian St. Martin and Mack DeVries give the Terps versatility at both center and outside back, as does freshman Baltimore native Jace Clark. Senior Dalton Hass is an experienced operator at outside back and the unit will be further strengthened by the transfer additions of Chris Steinleitner (Eastern Florida) and Joel Brown (Saint Leo), along with freshman Alexi Mihalek.

In total, 11 student-athletes arrived in College Park for the 2024 season. Six of the new additions are forwards, which will help address some deficiencies in the attack that plagued the Terps in 2023. 

“We had so much adversity last year due to injuries and lack of availability of players that we really wanted to get stronger all over the field,” Cirovski said. “I feel like we have improved in all the different lines, from the goalkeeper position, the back line, the midfield line and the front line.” 

Part of that new group of attacking players is Yale transfer Max Rogers. The forward is coming off a fantastic 2023 campaign in which he was an All-Ivy League First Team and All-Ivy League Tournament selection. Rogers, attracted to College Park by Maryland’s sustained excellence over the years, being a winning pedigree to the Terps. 

“This is my second transfer,” Rogers said. “I won a conference championship with Fordham. I then won the Ivy League with Yale. On a personal level, I've been lucky enough to be a part of teams that win and have made runs in the national tournament. Maryland is a team and a name that deserves to be still playing in the latter parts of the year.”

Some of the Terps attacking quality has already been displayed in preseason, with sophomore Luke van Heukelum finishing with a hat trick in the squad’s fine tune up match against Rider. Junior Colin Griffith has also been on the scoresheet in the team’s exhibition season and both will look for breakout campaigns in 2024. Fellow returnees Max Riley and Cameron Gerber give the Terps options as potent finishers around the goal.

One of Maryland’s most intriguing new additions is transfer Sadam Masereka, a dynamic attacking player who scored 22 goals and added seven assists in two seasons at Lindsey Wilson College. The freshmen quartet of Mikkel Lejbowicz, Travis Thompson, Jameson Michel and Aidan Sheppela will also look to play roles in a Terps’ attack that will look to return to form this fall.

In addition to the new student-athletes, the Terps welcomed assistant coaches Brian Rowland and Michael  Gould. Rowland is no stranger to success at Maryland after serving on staff with Cirovski from 2010-17. He helped the Terps win 123 games, 10 conference trophies and advance to two College Cups, including the national championship game in 2013. Rowland spent the 2023 season with UMBC and previously was the head coach at Temple from 2018-22. 

Gould was an assistant coach at Chestnut Hill College in 2023, primarily working with goalkeepers, and he will continue to tutor that position in College Park. 

With last season's bitter taste and a fresh mix of new and familiar faces, the 2024 squad is looking to form the winning identity that has defined Cirovski’s hall of fame tenure.

This year, Maryland and the rest of the Big Ten welcome a pair of West Coast programs to the conference in UCLA and Washington (USC and Oregon don’t have men’s soccer programs). 

Over the years, the cross-country rivalry between UCLA and Maryland in men’s soccer is well documented, with images of Sebastian Elney’s late winners at Ludwig Field coming to mind in recent memory for Maryland fans. The newest chapter of the Terps/Bruins rivalry takes place Oct.  21 at Ludwig Field. 

The Terps open the 2024 campaign on Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. on the road at UMBC, with their home opener three days later on Aug. 25 for a cross-town showdown against the Georgetown Hoyas. Maryland and Virginia will also renew the greatest rivalry in college soccer on Labor Day at Ludwig Field. 

With a challenging schedule ahead, the Terps effort to forge a winning identity will be quickly tested in the early part of the season, and Cirovski hopes the right formula of new and returning talent will take the Terps back to the top of the college soccer world. 

“Our goal this year is to make Ludwig a fortress and to put a smile on the fan's face,” Cirovski said. “I love their loyalty to our team. We need them. They're part of our team, and we're looking forward to seeing them very soon.”