Stephane Njike: From Flipping In France To Flourishing In The Big Ten

When Stephane Njike scores, the party’s only beginning. The same feet that provide his top-ranked Terps a goal propel Njike once, twice, three times into the air as he executes a string of acrobatic feats that rival his goals in beauty.

When Njike — one of Maryland’s prominent offensive threats — nets a goal, he quite literally jumps for joy. Flips and handsprings turn soccer matches into gymnastics meets, raising the Terps’ energy to another level.

“It’s electric,” senior midfielder Albi Ndrenika said. “He’s a beast.”

It’s become a welcome and familiar sight to Maryland fans at Ludwig Field, and it never seems to fail to leave broadcasters in awe. 

Njike’s flipped and propelled himself into a prominent role on the Terps’ elite soccer team and is a primary reason they’ve already brought a Big Ten Championship back to Ludwig Field in a season that’s just beginning. 

“That was the regular season,” Njike said. “The things that matter now are what’s happening now. We did something by winning the Big Ten, but we haven’t done everything we want to do by the end of the season, so we need to stay locked in.”

Maryland hosts the Big Ten Men’s Soccer Tournament this week in College Park — an impressive testament to the success they’ve already achieved and a reminder of what’s possible down the stretch. 

Athletic prowess, however, is nothing new to Njike, who started his trip to College Park many stops — and even a sport — ago.

Njike grew up in Paris, France, with aspirations of soccer stardom. But before he could break out in the world’s most popular sport, he found himself on the gymnastics mat. 

“It’s very helpful to start with gymnastics,” Njike said. “Whatever sport it is, if you start with gymnastics, you’ll have a good body for whatever sport you want to do after.”

Did flipping, tumbling, and learning how to contort his body directly aid his soccer career once it got started? He doesn’t have a doubt.

“Gymnastics did help,” Njike said. “I’m so agile. I’m flexible because of gymnastics. I can stay fit and athletic because of soccer and gymnastics, too.”

That agility snares the attention of fans and media alike nationwide, but it was his professional soccer experience in France, Germany, and Luxembourg that caught the eye of head coach Sasho Cirovski.

“The international recruits are typically a little older and more experienced coming in,” Cirovski said. “They’re very mature in their approach to everything. It’s really nice to have that kind of mature player coming in. That’s what we’ve had with a lot of our transfers. We’re getting players with experience either at the NCAA level or internationally.”

Njike had both. After conversations with his agency and friends who had succeeded at the collegiate level, Njike brought his talents to the United States. Stops at Marshall and Long Island University helped him realize that he could compete in the Big Ten. 

“He’s been a big part of this team since the first day he came on campus,” Cirovski said. “We’re lucky to have a lot of top-end talent, but there are things that he can do that really nobody can do. His vision and passion and dribbling are next-level. He’s created a lot of great opportunities for us and scored some big goals and big assists.”

His elite season has featured seven goals and seven assists — fitting as Njike wears No. 77 — as a part of Maryland’s undefeated regular season. He’s second on the team in goals and assists and tied for first in points, with Sadam Masereka, with whom he seems to go stride-for-stride in 2025. 

“I can’t even describe it,” Njike said of their on-field chemistry. “When we feel it, we just feel it. It’s so natural.”

When one scores, it seems the other isn’t far behind. The two have scored in the same match three different times this season, including Maryland’s Big Ten Championship-clinching win at Michigan State. 

With the Terps leading 3-2, Njike buried his seventh goal of his sophomore season, providing the eventual game-winning score in Maryland’s historic win.

“Having him there, you know he’s going to do something every game,” Ndrenika said. “It just adds confidence to the attack we already have.”

When the Terps need offense, they turn to Njike, one of college soccer’s most-experienced sophomores.

“The strength of this team has been our depth and our maturity,” Cirovski said. “This team feels like we haven’t really accomplished anything yet. We’re still very hungry and we knew from the first day of preseason that we have a special group of players. We’re on our way, but we’re not satisfied by any stretch of the imagination.”

The Terps still have everything in front of them, and their vision is clear. They’ll need every star they have to step up in significant ways, but there’s little doubt that Njike will provide when the time comes. 

“He brings a lot,” Ndrenika said. “Sometimes, when things on offense aren’t going your way, you need someone who can take the game to the defender and make something happen. He does that. He really steps up. In the playoffs, every moment is a clutch moment. We’re going to have to come up with clutch moments from the front and the back. I have a lot of confidence in every one of our attackers to create a game-changing moment and he just adds to that confidence.”

Njike loves the Ludwig Field noise. Whether they’re cheering on one of his goals or the ensuing flips, he loves to hear the fans happy.

“It doesn’t matter what they’re cheering for,” Njike said. “They’re just loud and we love it.”

Those same fans, he said, will be crucial to have at Ludwig Field as the postseason stretch begins.

“It’s important,” Njike said. “If you want us to make it all the way, you’ve gotta be there. We love our fans. They give us a lot of energy. When you’re tired but you hear the crowd, you just want to give it more. We need them as much as they need us.”