EAST LANSING, MI — Sadam Masereka tallied a hat trick to lead No. 1 Maryland to the 2025 Big Ten Men's Soccer Championship with a 4-3 win at Michigan State on Friday night.
The victory capped an undefeated regular season for the Terps (12-0-3, 8-0-2 Big Ten) as Maryland clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will host the semifinals at Ludwig Field on Nov. 12 with the Terps playing at 7 PM, live on BTN.
The win marks men's soccer's seventh Big Ten title, including three Big Ten Tournament crowns. Maryland also won titles in 2014, 2016, and 2022, along with tournament titles in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Overall, the title was Maryland Athletics' 50th conference title since joining the Big Ten in 2014, the third-most of any program in the conference in that time behind only Michigan and Ohio State.
Maryland finished with an undefeated regular season for the first time since 2016, when the Terps went 15-0-2.
Masereka scored a trio of goals in the first half to record Maryland's first hat trick since Eryk Williamson in 2017, as the top-ranked Terps took control and never looked back against Michigan State (5-8-3, 2-5-3 Big Ten).
The Terps took all of the suspense out of its historic night early as their leading scorer continued to deliver. Masereka buried his first goal of the night past MSU's Zac Kelly in the 22nd minute.
A shot from Joseph Umberto Picotto — who picked up three assists on Friday — rebounded and found Masereka's foot in the 26th minute. He blasted his eighth goal of the season into the wide-open net to double Maryland's lead.
Stephane Njike added a goal and two assists in the game.
Seven minutes later, the ball found Masereka's foot in front of the net again and he put the Terps' win on ice with his third goal of the night. The Spartans netted a trio of goals, but a late Njike score helped Maryland hold on for the 4-3 win and the milestone conference championship.
How it Happened:
- MSU recorded the night's first shot in the first minute as it sailed high.
- Masereka put Maryland's first shot on net in the third minute, prompting the match's first save.
- Mack made his first save in the 11th minute.
- Masereka netted his seventh goal of the season in the 22nd minute as the Terps went up 1-0. Umberto Picotto (4) and Luca Costabile (2) assisted on the goal.
- Masereka scored again in the 26th minute as Umberto Picotto (5) and Njike (6) picked up assists.
- Masereka picked up the hat trick in the 34th minute as Umberto Picotto (6) and Njike (7) contributed once again.
- MSU's Miles Merritt scored in the 44th minute to put the Spartans on the board.
- Maryland took a 3-1 lead into the half.
- Njike hit the crossbar in the 47th minute.
- MSU earned a yellow card in the 55th minute.
- The Spartans fought off a Terps' corner in the 61st.
- MSU made a save on Njike in the 72nd minute.
- Michigan State scored its second goal in the 76th minute.
- Njike scored (7) in the 83rd minute to put the Terps up 4-2.
- MSU scored its third goal in the 86th minute.
Masereka's Magical Night:
- "We came in with the tactic of winning that game. We knew what was on the line."
- "I didn't score on the first chance I had, but I knew I'd have more chances."
- "We're just working together as a unit."
- "Come and support us. We've got this!"
Numbers to Know:
- 0: The Terps capped off an unbeaten regular season for the first time since 2016.
- 3: Masereka became the first Terp to score three goals in a match since 2017.
- 7: Maryland earned its seventh Big Ten Men's Soccer Championship.
- 9: Masereka finished the regular season with a team-high nine goals.
- 50: The Terps won their 50th Big Ten Championship on Friday.
- 78: Maryland trailed for a total of 78 seconds in its undefeated regular season.
Sasho Cirovski's Celebrations:
- "To be undefeated in 2025 is a remarkable accomplishment. This is incredibly rewarding and I couldn't be more proud of our team's resilience, their persistence and their overall quality over the regular season."
- "I thought our team was very good tonight but Sadam had a special night. He's such a dangerous player. He gets in good positions every game and tonight he was rewarded for his great effort all year. He got three great goals and they were very critical to our team's success."
- "We're seeing the benefits of our focusing on creating the type of team that can have a successful season."
Up Next:
- Maryland will host the Big Ten Tournament in College Park next week as the No. 1 seed. The Terps will play the No. 4 seeded UCLA Bruins at 7 PM on Nov. 12. The match will air on the Big Ten Network.
