No. 19 Maryland men’s soccer extends winning streak, beats Northwestern 2-1

There were questions about Maryland men’s soccer’s ability to score goals heading into conference play.

The Terps finally answered three games in the Big Ten season, earning their third straight conference win over Northwestern 2-1 after a dominant two-goal first half.

Maryland’s games early in the season were marked by a failure to score goals in crucial phases. As the team regained momentum in 2024, striker Colin Griffith’s significantly improved play was a catalyst for change.

It took 12 minutes for Griffith to repeat his positive impact against Indiana, as he beat his defender and won a penalty. From there, Leon Koehl did exactly what he had done three times this season: He buried the win and gave Maryland an early 1-0 lead.

However, Griffith wasn’t done yet.

Less than 10 minutes later, he ran diagonally into the Wildcats’ penalty area and left-back Luca Costabile skillfully slammed the ball straight into his path. Griffith touched it with his right foot and hammered it into the top right corner – his third goal in four games.

Maryland couldn’t have hoped for a better start, taking a 2-0 lead just 20 minutes into the game. The rest of the first half was quiet as the Wildcats were unable to force Laurin Mack into a save.

The Terps left the halftime locker room with a simple goal: preserve their 2-0 lead and earn their third straight Big Ten victory.

Instead of defending their lead, Cirovski’s team continued to apply pressure and hoped for the third goal.

The Wildcats then launched a counterattack, which Chris Steinleitner had to fend off with a slide tackle. The referee deemed the challenge worthy of a yellow card and Northwestern was awarded a free kick in front of midfield.

Collin McCamy threw the ball into the penalty area to Luke Shreiner, who headed over the goal. The ball fell into the path of forward Chris Thaggard, who fired it into the goal, cutting Maryland’s lead in half.

Suddenly, the tension on the Maryland sideline seemed to increase once again as they fought with all their might to maintain their two-goal lead.

After a series of extensive checks for possible penalties or red cards for Maryland in the final 10 minutes of the game, it appeared the Wildcats had one last chance that would allow them to tie the score.

The ball was misplayed by several Maryland defenders and fell into the path of striker Thaddeus Dewing, who missed the entire goal frame just inside the six-yard box.

That was the Wildcats’ last chance and Maryland came home from Illinois with its third straight win in conference play.

Three things you should know

1. Costabile continues to impress. If Maryland men’s soccer awards were given out in 2024, Costabile would be the team’s most valuable player. In addition to his good defense, he gave the team an extra dimension on offense and provided a wonderful assist on the Terps’ second goal.

2. The Terps defense continues to stand firm. Maryland’s defense has conceded just one goal in its first three conference games. If Maryland can continue to defend like this, it will be tough to beat.

3. Another loss avenged. The Terps have now successfully avenged losses against three conference opponents they defeated in 2023. Cirovski and the Terps’ “revenge season” is in full swing.