The Maryland men’s soccer team allowed a combined four shots in its matches against Rutgers and Penn State last week. Three of those four attempts resulted in goals.
So entering their game against No. 22 Michigan State on Friday night, the top-ranked Terps partook in what the team calls “defensive sessions” in practice. The drills start with basic 1-on-1 defending and continue to add players until a full live scrimmage breaks out.
The training paid off. Maryland recorded its second shutout of the season — and its first since Aug. 29 — in its 2-0 win over the Spartans.
“The last two wins didn’t feel great for us the way we performed,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “We really committed to making things right and making sure we make it tough for other teams to score.”
Cirovski said getting the shutout Friday was crucial in earning the victory. Most of the goals the Terps had given up entering Friday were a result of being careless with the ball or making small mental errors.
For example, in Maryland’s 2-1 win over Rutgers on Sept. 13, midfielder Amar Sejdic failed to clear the ball in the Terps’ box off a corner kick. The ball rolled to Scarlet Knights midfielder Dante Perez, who struck the ball into the top left corner of the net.
Then came Maryland’s struggles defending counter attacks. Penn State attempted two total shots against the Terps on Sept. 18. Both those attempts came off counter attacks, and the Nittany Lions capitalized each time.
“We gave up a couple of soft goals there,” Cirovski said. “We wanted to get better at stopping a counter. [Friday], we had better compactness in our attack to make sure we deny outlets on their counter. We played a little bit smarter defensively.”
The Spartans still found openings in the Terps defense, attempting five shots, three of which were on goal. But most of those opportunities came from outside or at the top of the box with multiple Maryland defenders in front of the net.
Maryland also improved its 1-on-1 defending. When a Spartan broke free from the backline and received a cross, the Terps still had at least one man in front of him, which wasn’t the case against Penn State. Plus, goalkeeper Cody Niedermeier saved three shots to anchor the defense.
“A lot of the goals we’ve given up have been deflections or little shanks,” Niedermeier said. “[We worked on] everything defensively. With the intensity we brought tonight, we were ready for everything.”
Niedermeier said one of the traits of Maryland soccer since Cirovski took the job in 1993 has been relentless defensive pressure. The Terps believe they displayed that all night.
Midfielder Jake Rozhansky said the team came out with a lot of energy from the start, which hasn’t been the case in every game this season. That spirit contagious among all of the players, Rozhansky said, and The Crew, which packed both sides of the bleachers Friday, helped Maryland maintain its intensity.
Cirovski said before the season Maryland’s backline would develop into one of the strongest units in the country. Friday, the Terps displayed how dominant they can be.
“There was no complacency today,” Cirovski said. “It was full-on concentration and commitment from the beginning, and it led to a really connected performance. That’s the vision I have for the team and the vision the players have for themselves. We raised the standard.”
