While sitting inside the film room of Varsity Team House on Sept. 7, Maryland men’s soccer midfielder Jake Rozhansky sported a bristly beard. He thought it looked ugly, but he couldn’t shave.
The Terps freshmen and transfers decided to grow out beards before Maryland’s first preseason game Aug. 14, and they chose to not shave them until the group scored eight goals. They wanted to challenge themselves to make a difference right away.
So after scoring the eighth goal — the game-winning score in the Terps’ 2-1 win over Rutgers on Tuesday night — Rozhansky couldn’t wait to get back to College Park to erase what had been occupying his face.
While growing beards was an enjoyable bonding experience, it illustrated how big of a difference the Terps transfers and freshmen have made through six games. When No. 4 Maryland (4-0-2, 1-0-1 Big Ten) plays Penn State (3-2-1, 1-0) at Ludwig Field on Sunday, the newcomers will look to continue their production with cleanly shaved faces.
“The newcomers have fit in extremely well,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “Some of them feel like they’ve been here much longer already. We have a good culture on the team and it’s a very welcoming group. Like I said when I announced my recruits, they’re all going to have major impacts on the program sooner or later. They’re all outstanding people and great players.”
“We got good looking kids, and they don’t look so good with all the hair on their faces,” Cirovski added.
Forward Gordon Wild, who transferred from South Carolina Upstate, has stood out among the Terps’ new players. He scored the group’s first half goals and leads the Big Ten with six scores.
Of the Terps’ seven freshmen, defender Donovan Pines and midfielders Keegan Kelly and Luca Levee have each played more than 85 minutes. Kelly is the lone rookie to score, as he struck a ball into the upper-right corner of the goal from outside of the box in the Terps’ 4-1 win over South Florida on Sept. 5.
Pines assisted on defender Alex Crognale’s equalizing goal in Maryland’s 1-1 draw with No. 3 Indiana on Friday. He’s played the most minutes of freshmen (152) and has been a reliable back-up center back to complement Crognale.
“I had a really deep feeling knowing our class would come in and push the older guys right away,” midfielder Eryk Williamson said. “I knew most of these guys from playing with them before. I knew Jake was going to come in here and compete hard. That’s what we need here, people who compete. I knew it was going to come together.”
Before the Terps’ game Tuesday, Rozhansky, who transferred from Virginia last spring, told his teammates it would be the last day he had his beard. Rozhansky led the Cavaliers with four goals last season, and while he hadn’t scored for the Terps entering that day, Cirovski said his scoring would come with time.
Wild scored the seventh goal off of a penalty kick in the sixth minute after Rutgers forward Kyle Goodwin fouled Rozhansky in the box. Then in the 104th minute, Williamson sent a cross to forward Sebastian Elney in the box. Rutgers goalkeeper David Greczek saved the shot, but the ball bounced to Rozhansky, who scored in the game-winning goal.
Rozhansky ripped his jersey off, spread out his arms and smiled before his teammates dog piled him in celebration. He said the score felt even better knowing he and his teammates could shave almost one month of growing out their beards.
Still, Pines said completing the task won’t deter the group from wanting to accomplish more.
“When Jake scored, we were all ecstatic,” Pines said. “We’re all super happy for each other and we’re cheering each other on. We always feel like we can make each other better in the grand scheme of things.”
CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this story incorrectly stated midfielder Jake Rozhansky was sitting in the film room at the Gossett Football Team House on Sept. 7. He was actually sitting in the film room of the Varsity Team House. The story has been updated to reflect this correction.
