William Kulvik received a pass in his own half of the field. While he took a second to see if an open teammate availed themselves, he didn’t need anyone.

The center back launched a high-arching shot from behind the midfield line, catching Detroit Mercy goalie Quinn Tews away from his goal line. Tews merely retreated toward his net as Kulvik’s effort soared over his head, the ball bouncing into the net for the Terps’ first of five goals in a rout.

“I heard the bench call that the goalie was far off his line. And then I saw the opportunity one time, I didn’t take it,” Kulvik said. “Then next time I got the ball from Chris [Steinleitner], I looked up and he was standing on his own 18-yard box, and just kind of went for it.”

Maryland men’s soccer earned its first win of the campaign in an efficient attacking display, defeating the Titans 5-2 Friday night at Ludwig Field. The Terps have won both meetings between the two sides by a combined 9-2 scoreline after a 4-0 win in 1988.

The Terps’ (1-1-1) attack, netting one goal on 25 shots over the first two games, struggled to place shots on frame in their draw against UMBC and loss to Georgetown. They put just nine of the 25 on goal.

Maryland’s entire lineup fared far-better against the Titans (1-2-0), scoring its most goals in a first half since 2009 with four.

[Sasho Cirovski, Maryland men’s soccer displeased with Georgetown’s ‘unsporting’ throw-in]

Kulvik added to his third-ever Maryland goal — a stunning chip in the 13th minute — three minutes later. He nodded in a Max Rogers corner to double the Terps’ advantage.

“Once you get one goal, you get hungry. You kind of have blood in your mouth, you taste blood,” Kulvik said. “I love how our offense gets after it after I hit that first goal.”

Four minutes following Kulvik’s brace, Sadam Masereka exploited space left for him down the right flank for Maryland’s third score.

Midfielder Leon Koehl lofted a ball that Masereka ran onto. The forward dribbled the ball toward the byline as Luke van Heukelum darted into the box, firing a low cross into the area that van Heukelum tapped in for his second goal of the season.

Midfielder Albi Ndrenika — who missed the entire 2023 season with an injury — added his name to the scoresheet for the first time in 649 days in the final minute of the first half.

He made a run in behind the Detroit Mercy back line and brought down a long ball from Luca Costabile with a delicate feel. His next touch settled the ball before Ndrenika placed a shot into the bottom right corner.

“I just saw a pocket … why not make this run. There’s 20 seconds left in the half,” Ndrenika said. “First touch kind of came weird, had to adjust, but in that moment I blacked out if front of goal and I was just like ‘Get the shot off.’”

[Maryland men’s soccer falls flat in home opener against Georgetown, 2-0]

The Terps placed eight of their 13 shots on target in the opening frame, their most in any half so far this season.

Maryland’s attack continued to excel in the second half. The unit outshot the Titans 15-7, scoring again right after the restart as Matias De Jesus accounted for his first-career goal in the 51st minute — Max Riley marked his first appearance of the year with an assist.

Detroit Mercy scored two consolations when defender Casey McCarthy and forward Guershom Sylvain beat Maryland goalie Hudson Blatteis, who entered for Laurin Mack for the final 45 minutes.

The Terps’ productive attacking output marked their highest scoring figure since their 6-4 win over Villanova last year. As Maryland enters a portion of its schedule with tougher opponents, similar offensive displays will need to happen to ensure similar results to Friday night’s.

“We played well in the first two matches of the year and weren’t rewarded,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said. “It was important to reward our effort with the victory today.”