COLLEGE PARK, MD — Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski believes he has one of his best rosters in recent memory. Each passing win for the No. 23 Terps (6-0-2, 2-0-1 Big Ten) continues to prove him right.
Maryland improved its unbeaten streak to start the 2025 season to eight matches with a 4-1 win over the Northwestern Wildcats (5-3-1, 1-2 Big Ten) on Friday night at Ludwig Field. A pair of consecutive goals handed Maryland a lead it never relented as the Terps earned their second conference win of the season.
The two squads looked to get off to lighting-fast starts. Each recorded a shot on goal in the match's first two minutes. The first goal, however, wouldn't come until the match's fourth shot on goal, when
Leon Koehl drilled a penalty shot into the net for his second goal of the year.
Just over a minute later, Albi Ndrenika netted his second of the season on an assist from Luca Costabile as the Terps scored on back-to-back shots.
Northwestern responded in the 37th minute with a goal from Peter Riesz, but Maryland took a 2-1 lead into the half.
Sadam Masereka continued his impressive season with his fourth goal of the year on an insane bicycle kick in the 65th minute. Both Luke van Heukelum and Ndrenika picked up assists as Maryland took a 3-1 lead.
A tipped ball above the Northwestern net in the 79th minute came down and was batted into the goal by the Wildcats' goalkeeper for the Terps' fourth goal of the night.
Laurin Mack had an impressive night in net for the Terps, facing 16 shots and making six saves as Maryland continued its best start to a season since 2017.
How it Happened:
- Mack made the match's first save in the first minute.
- Northwestern took the match's first corner in the first minute.
- Rocket Ritarita notched Maryland's first shot in the second minute, forcing a Wildcat save.
- The two squads traded shots in the 10th minute.
- Mack made his second save in the 13th minute.
- Maryland's first corner attempt came in the 20th minute.
- The Terps fought off a NW corner in the 23rd minute.
- Maryland defended another corner in the 29th minute.
- Koehl scored his second goal of the season on a penalty in the 30th minute to give Maryland a 1-0 lead.
- Ndrenika scored his second goal of the season in the 31st minute on an assist from Costabile (1).
- Riesz scored Northwestern's first goal in the 37th minute.
- Maryland blocked a pair of Wildcat shots in the 39th and 40th minutes.
- The Terps put up a pair of shots in the 50th minute.
- Masereka scored his fourth goal of the season in the 64th minute on assists from van Heukelum (2) and Ndrenika (4).
- Maryland scored on a Northwestern-aided goal in the 79th minute.
Cirovski's Coaching Points:
- "We knew Northwestern was going to come juiced up, and they brought a lot of energy into the game."
- "We really raised the intensity level after the 20th minute."
- "When we got the first goal, it energized us."
- "Resiliancey. That's what you have to have if you want to be a team that contends for championships. You have to meet the challenges head-on."
Lasse Kelp's Takaways:
- "They're a really tough team to play. They're going to take a lot of points away from other teams."
- "I focus on awareness and being alert on all of the corner kicks. We always anticipate early and make sure that we have the second balls."
Albi's Amazing Night:
- "I was just feeding off the team."
- "We have a really good team."
- "I was pretty happy with the ball I put in. Luke did a great job to keep it in play. He creates special moments out of nothing. It's just a joy to play with him."
Numbers to Know:
- 3: The Terps are undefeated through their first three conference matches for a second straight season and the fourth time in the past five seasons.
- 4: Masereka leads the team with four goals on the year.
- 8: Maryland is unbeaten through its first eight matches for the first time since 2017.
- 9: Maryland earned its ninth all-time win over Northwestern and now leads the series 9-4-2.
- 84: Maryland scored its first two goals in the first half 84 seconds apart.
Up Next:
- Maryland heads to the West Coast for a match with UCLA on Oct. 3. The match will start at 8 PM and air on BTN.
