Before Friday’s game, the Maryland men’s soccer seniors had been a part of 50 wins in their four years with the Terps. None of those victories came against Northwestern.
Maryland had recorded at least one victory over every other Big Ten school since joining the conference in 2014, but the Terps had surrendered a game-winning goal against Northwestern in each of the past two seasons.
So, when Maryland visited Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois, on Friday night, senior defender Chris Odoi-Atsem said the team had extra motivation to reverse its history.
The No. 1 Terps met their goal in dominating fashion. Maryland defeated the Wildcats, 4-0, for its fourth consecutive victory with scores from four different players.
“It was a complete performance,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “Our team was highly motivated to play Northwestern after the results of the last two years. It showed.”
Maryland (7-0-2, 4-0-1 Big Ten) was coming off a 2-0 victory over then-No. 22 Michigan State last week. Cirovski said the Terps’ performance against the Wolverines was their best showing of the season. The veteran coach said his squad got out to a good start in that contest but still wanted to improve Friday after struggling with intensity in some games.
The Terps controlled possession from the start against the Wildcats (2-7-1, 1-3-1), resulting in an 11th-minute score as forward Sebastian Elney tapped a ball backward to midfielder Jake Rozhansky, who struck a shot past Northwestern goalkeeper Francisco Tomasino for his third goal of the season.
Rozhansky also scored against the Spartans last week after Cirovski moved him from right wing to center midfield. The junior continued to thrive in his new role Friday.
“He’s starting to flourish with his creativity,” Cirovski said. “His work rate is really putting himself in good spots on the field. He was very good today, but so was the entire squad.”
With more pressure on the Wildcats, Maryland added to its lead in the second half.
In the 51st minute, Rozhansky launched the ball from outside of the box. Tomasino blocked his attempt, but the ball bounced to midfielder Amar Sejdic, who scored his third goal of the season.
“One of our goals is to not only score the first goal, but score the second,” Cirovski said. “The last two games we’ve been able to do that.”
Maryland added insurance 10 minutes later. Sejdic sent a cross into the box to Elney, who headed the ball toward the left goalpost. Forward Gordon Wild was there to head the ball into the back of the net for his Big Ten-leading ninth goal of the season.
Then with about 10 minutes remaining, defender Diego Silva attacked the box and drew Tomasino out of goal. Silva passed to forward George Campbell, who stood alone in front of goal. The reserve netted his second goal of the campaign.
Meanwhile, the Terps allowed one shot in the second half to produce their second consecutive shutout and third of the season.
The past two years, the Terps made defensive errors down the stretch against the Wildcats. This time, Maryland tied its largest margin of victory against to vanquish their Big Ten foe.
“The entire team has played well the past two games,” Cirovski said. “The team is starting to really gel.”
