Volatility was virtually unheard of for the first three decades of Sasho Cirovski’s tenure as Maryland men’s soccer coach. But it was ever-present during the last two seasons.
The Terps missed the NCAA and Big Ten tournaments in 2023 while posting the program’s worst winning percentage since Cirovski took over in 1993. Last season though, Maryland assembled a 12-match unbeaten run that saw the Terps reach second in the nation by late October.
Maryland’s five losses in its final six matches ultimately brought last season to an unceremonious close. But the nucleus of last year’s team remains. With seven returning starters and an emphasis on adding depth, the 2025 Terps seem ready to rekindle their historically consistent success.
“I think that this will be our deepest squad that we have had, maybe at least since 2018 and maybe even before that,” Cirovski said.
Maryland’s late-season struggles in last year correlated with an injury to midfielder Leon Koehl, who still finished as the team’s leading scorer thanks to a perfect mark on penalty kicks.
Sporting Kansas City picked Koehl in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft 2025. But the first team All-Big Ten honoree was selected with the idea that he would go back to school anyways, Koehl said. His return to College Park may prove to be Maryland’s most significant offseason move.
“Then I was injured, and then we dropped off, gave the Big Ten away like that, and that hurt,” Koehl said. “So I really want to come back and win something big this year.”
Cirovski said Koehl still hasn’t been cleared to play. Once he returns, the German midfielder will play alongside fellow returner Albi Ndrenika in central midfield, with senior Chris Steinleitner lined up as a defensive midfielder.
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Maryland held a 6-1-2 record when that trio started together in 2024. It dropped to 3-5-3 when one was missing from the starting lineup.
“All of us just complement each other very well,” Koehl said. “That’s what made us so successful last year.”
Veteran forwards Sadam Masereka and Colin Griffith will serve as Maryland’s primary scorers from open play.
The speedy Masereka featured on the right flank last year, where he notched four goals and two assists. Griffith split time as a central forward and left winger during the previous campaign. He scored six times, with all of those goals coming in a seven-game span that lasted just more than a month.
Cirovski noted that Griffith won’t be available to start the campaign because he’s still recovering from offseason surgery. The senior forward will be a mainstay in the Terps’ starting 11 once fully healthy.
Maryland’s attack should also host a third forward given the departure of Max Rogers, the Terps’ leading assister last season.
Returners Max Riley and Luke van Heukelum are viable attacking options, alongside Long Island transfer Stephane Njike. As a versatile playmaker, Njike led LIU in goals and assists, tallying one of each in the Sharks’ NCAA tournament loss to Maryland last season.
The Terps’ host of upperclass talent in the middle of the pitch and attacking third creates supreme promise for a team that scored 33 goals last season — 13 more than the lowly number managed in 2023.
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There are still mysteries on defense.
Only left back Luca Costabile returns from last season’s defensive four, though the then-junior often impacted games with his attacking support down the left flank. He earned five assists and two goals last season from his frequent crosses and overlapping runs.
A combination of returners Mack DeVries, Brian St. Martin and Jace Clark could fill Maryland’s losses at both center back positions and right back. UMBC transfer Lasse Kelp may also compete for a starting spot, particularly in central defense, given his 6-foot-3 stature.
“We may not know what our best lineup is until potentially three, four weeks into the season,” Cirovski said. “Right now, we have an idea, but we’re probably going to rotate a fair amount of guys.”
Sophomore Laurin Mack will undoubtedly be a consistent presence in goal. The German shot stopper started 19 of Maryland’s 20 matches last year, saving nearly 66 percent of shots to earn a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
Defensive uncertainty appears to be Maryland’s biggest hurdle to reclaiming the top-five status it briefly achieved last season. The Terps will start the 2025 slate as the first team out of the national top-25, but their experience across the pitch could lead a rapid rise — and more importantly, a prolonged stay — among the nation’s elite programs.
