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University of Maryland Athletics

Rocket Ritarita Vs UConn
0
UConn UCONN (12-5-4, 5-2-1)
3
Winner Maryland UMD (13-1-4, 8-0-2)
UConn UCONN
(12-5-4, 5-2-1)
0
Final
3
Maryland UMD
(13-1-4, 8-0-2)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UConn UCONN 0 0 0
Maryland UMD 2 1 3

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

ELITE EIGHT BOUND: No. 4 Terps Defeat No. 13 UConn 3-0 To Advance To NCAA Quarterfinals

Rocket Ritarita’s three-point day propelled the Terps past the Huskies on Saturday.

COLLEGE PARK, MD - The No. 4 Terps are advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 after downing No. 13 UConn 3-0 at Ludwig Field on Saturday afternoon. 

Rocket Ritarita had a massive, three-point day with a goal and an assist in the first half to push his Terps (13-1-4) past the Huskies (12-5-4) and into the Elite Eight.

Maryland will be playing in its 18th NCAA Quarterfinal and 13th under head coach Sasho Cirovski. The Terps will face either Washington or No. 12 Stanford (who play on Sunday at 8 PM) on either Dec. 5 or 6 at Ludwig Field. 

Albi Ndrenika got the scoring started in the 27th minute with his fourth goal of the season. Ritarita tallied an assist as Ndrenika picked up the freshman's rebound and buried it to put Maryland on the board first.  Ritarita picked up an unassisted goal of his own in the 38th minute. A rocket off his foot blasted past UConn's Kyle Durham and gave the Terps a 2-0 lead to take into the break. Luke van Heukelum added a goal in the 88th minute to ice the dominant win and keep the Terps' championship aspirations alive. Both Sadam Masereka and Chris Steinleitner added assists on the goal. Maryland outshot the Huskies 11-1 in the first half and 23-5 overall to advance in the tournament and end UConn's season. The offensive barrage made Laurin Mack's day in net easy as he posted his ninth shutout of the season and his fifth against a ranked team in 2025.

How It Happened:
1st Half:
  • Stephane Njike put up the match's first shot in the third minute, but UConn made the day's first save.
  • Farouk Cisse recorded a shot in the fourth minute.
  • UConn was awarded the match's first corner in the sixth minute. 
  • Kenny Quist-Therson and Steinleitner tallied back-to-back shots in the eighth minute. 
  • The Huskies fought off a Maryland corner in the 24th minute.
  • Ndrenika scored (4) in the 27th minute as Ritarita picked up an assist (6) to put Maryland ahead 1-0.
  • UConn's Austin Brummett picked up a yellow card in the 30th minute. 
  • Ritarita scored (4) in the 38th minute to double the lead.
  • Maryland outshot UConn 11-1 in the first half. 
2nd Half:
  • UConn's Max Gummesson drew a card in the 49th minute.
  • Ndrenika recorded the first two shots of the half as UConn made another save. 
  • Mack made his first save in the 54th minute and the Terps fought off the ensuing corner. 
  • Brummett was sent off with a red card in the 64th minute, putting UConn a man down.
  • UConn's Balthazar Saunders was also dealt a yellow card in the 64th minute.
  • The Huskies fought off a Maryland corner in the 70th minute.
  • The Huskies picked up a team red card in the closing minutes.
  • Van Heukelum scored (4) in the 88th minute for the Terps' third goal on assists from Masereka (5) and Steinleitner (4).
  • The Terps took the contest 3-0 to advance in the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA Tournament Success:
  • The Terps are competing in their 42nd NCAA Tournament, the fifth-most in NCAA history.
  • With 63 wins in the NCAA Tournament, Maryland has the sixth-most all-time victories.  
  • Cirovski's 31 tournament appearances are the most by any head coach in NCAA history.
  • Cirovski's 52 NCAA Tournament wins are the second-most all-time.
  • Between 2001-22, Cirovski led Maryland to 22 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
  • In Maryland's three championships under Cirovski, they won as the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 11 seeds.
  • The Terps have won an NCAA Tournament game in three of the past four seasons.
Top-Seeded Terps:
  • As the No. 4 seed, Maryland is the highest seed remaining in the NCAA Tournament after a wild first round. 
  • No. 1 Vermont, No. 2 Virginia, No. 3 Princeton, No. 5 SMU, and No. 6 Indiana all lost their first matches off the tournament to unranked opponents. 
  • The top 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament all got a first-round bye.
  • Saturday's matchup was one of only two ranked-on-ranked matches in the NCAA Tournament Third Round (No. 7 Georgetown vs. No. 10 High Point).
  • The Terps look to be the first No. 4 seed to ever win the College Cup.
Taking Down UConn:
  • Maryland and UConn played for the 12th time on Saturday and the first time since 2017.
  • The Terps now lead the all-time series 9-2 and have won each of the past four matches against the Huskies. 
  • Maryland improved to a perfect 5-0 at College Park against UConn.
Sasho Cirovski's Message:
  • "This was a fantastic, complete-team victory today. I'm so proud of the team."
  • "Our goal today was to get better defensively from the last game, and today, you saw a team that was extremely committed to defending, which is what you need in elimination games."
  • "Ritarita's a great player. He hasn't started a lot of games, but that doesn't diminish the value he brings to our team."
  • "For the most part, we mitigated their chances. Our defending box was excellent. That's what we need to do again."
Albi's Outlook:
  • "We've talked about the legacy we want to leave this year. We want to set a culture that we started building in the spring. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get there."
Rocketing Forward:
  • "My role is just to make as much of an impact as possible. I want to come into every game, make my teammates better, just keep going with the process, stay humble and make an overall impact."
Numbers to Know:
  • 2: Maryland has won multiple NCAA Tournament games for the first time since 2018, when the Terps won the national championship. 
  • 4: As the No. 4 seed, the Terps are the highest-seeded team left in the tournament after a wild first round.
  • 6: Maryland earned its sixth win over a ranked team this season.
  • 9: The Terps picked up their ninth all-time win over the Huskies.
  • 9: Mack posted his ninth shutout of the season and fifth against a ranked team. 
  • 23: Maryland outshot the Huskies 23-5 in the dominant win.
Up Next:
  • The Terps advance to the quarterfinals, where they'll host the winner of Sunday's match between Washington and No. 12 Stanford. Maryland will host the winner on either Dec. 5 or 6. That match will air on ESPN+.
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