Maryland men’s soccer drops six spots to No. 23 in rankings after 0-2 week

Coming off two losses to conclude its regular season, Maryland men’s soccer fell six spots to No. 23 in the United Soccer Coaches’ poll released Tuesday.

Last week, the Terps had a chance to improve their standing in the rankings and help their seedings in the conference and NCAA tournaments, but they fell to then-No. 16 Penn State on the road. In that match, Maryland built a 2-0 first-half lead before succumbing to the Nittany Lions’ pressure, losing 3-2 in overtime.

[Read more: In regular-season finale, Michigan poked holes throughout Maryland men’s soccer’s defense]

Penn State, which finished second in the Big Ten regular-season standings, moved up to No. 13. Indiana, the Big Ten regular-season champion, finished the regular season ranked No. 9 in the country.

The Terps once again built a first-half lead against Michigan on Sunday. On Senior Day, Maryland needed a win to clinch a quarterfinal home game in the conference tournament, but it surrendered a 2-1 halftime lead before ultimately dropping the match, 4-2.

Coach Sasho Cirovski’s team will travel to Northwestern for a quarterfinal match Sunday in the hopes of avenging the 3-1 loss it suffered to the Wildcats at home in September. Should the Terps advance to the semifinals, they would return home to Ludwig Field, the site of the Big Ten semifinals and final.