Maryland men’s soccer forward Sadam Masereka had seemingly scored the Terps’ first goal of the season when he gave them a lead over No. 6 Wake Forest last Thursday. But lightning storms at halftime forced the match to be cancelled, erasing Masereka’s effort.
On Monday, Maryland’s odds of scoring any goal appeared bleak after an hour of play against No. 25 Georgetown. Until, rather fittingly, Masereka broke free on a counter-attack.
After the Terps cleared a Hoya corner, freshman Farouk Cisse — who was added to Maryland’s roster on Saturday — collected possession near midfield and lofted a perfectly-weighted through ball to Masereka. The senior forward quickly collected the pass and chipped a shot over goalkeeper Tenzing Manske to give Maryland a lead, despite it having less scoring opportunities.
Masereka’s 65th-minute goal stood as Maryland beat the Hoyas, 1-0, at Shaw Field. The appropriate score provided the Terps (1-0-0) with a win in their season-opener, after inclement weather denied Masereka of what would’ve been the team’s first goal of the season just a few days prior.
“It was a just reward for him to find a way to get the goal tonight,” coach Sasho Cirovski said.
Masereka’s goal also stymied a Georgetown (0-0-1) attack that kept Maryland on the back foot for much of the evening. The Hoyas put six shots on target, though goalkeeper Laurin Mack was equal to all of those, setting a career-high with six saves.
“Laurin was exceptional. He was in many ways the man of the match,” Cirovski said. “He made the key saves, and that’s very inspiring … when you’re playing a good team at their place.”
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Maryland endured difficulties controlling possession in the first five minutes but created the match’s first real scoring chance with a counter attack down the left flank.
LIU transfer Stephane Njike probed along the sideline before cutting inside and delivering an in-swining cross to Luke van Heukelum. The junior — who struggled last Thursday — found a pocket of space for an open header.
van Heukelum sent his attempt low, where Manske recorded the match’s first save. The senior added a less-conventional stop soon after.
Midfielder Albi Ndrenika leveled a left-footed shot from outside the box in the 11th minute. Manske hardly moved as he tried to catch the strike and fumbled the ball. It slowly trickled goalward, but Manske dove on the loose ball just inches in front of the goal line.
Maryland’s once promising first half soon dissipated.
The Hoyas dominated possession over the next 15 minutes, taking five unanswered shots. The Terps could hardly work an attack beyond midfield.
Mack had significantly more work to do in Monday’s first half than in the lone 45 minutes against Wake Forest. The 2024 Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree only had to produce one save during Thursday’s first half.
Mack made a pair of stops to deny Georgetown’s first two efforts, collected a haphazard back-pass from Cisse and added an additional save in the 37th minute.
In between Mack’s three stops, senior Zach Zengue hit the crossbar and bent a shot just a few feet beyond the post.
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The Hoyas finished the opening 45 minutes with nine shots to Maryland’s seven, though over half of the Terps’ efforts were blocked by opposing defenders.
Despite the attacking disparity, the two sides entered halftime in a stalemate.
Maryland pushed forward with more fervor to open the second half, but Georgetown dominated possession to quickly reestablish its stronghold.
With the Terps on the back foot, Mack produced a pair of saves — in the 56th and 62nd minute — both of which saw the sophomore make full-extension dives to his right.
Masereka’s score soon followed, and the Hoyas’ attacks waned thereafter.
Georgetown pushed numbers over the final 25 minutes, but struggled to create clear shooting lanes. Mack only had one save to make during that stretch, as the Hoyas lofted five optimistic shots beyond the goal.
Georgetown sent a final attack with 20 seconds left.
The ball ricocheted around the box as both teams scrambled to control it. But Maryland ultimately cleared ahead of the final whistle, securing its season-opening victory.
“To win a big game like this, you need a defensive effort from everybody,” Cirovski said. “Our forwards today did a very good job of not only trying to put pressure on their backs, but also recovering and supporting the midfielders. Our backline stood tall. Our midfielders did their job in the two way battle.”
