Sadam Masereka’s best attribute is his speed but the senior showed off a different skillet – a bicycle kick – on Friday.

Masereka’s acrobatic goal was the highlight of the No. 23 Terps’ 4-1 win over Northwestern at Ludwig Field.

With the Terps leading Northwestern 2-1 in the second half, midfielder Albi Ndrenika lifted a right-footed cross to the back post. Forward Luke van Heukelum’s header drew a save from Wildcats goalkeeper Josue Hangi — but the ball deflected to Masereka.

With his back to the Northwestern net, Masereka turned to acrobatics. He jumped into a right-footed bicycle kick, beating Hangi from close range for Maryland’s (6-0-2, 2-0-1 Big Ten) most eloquent goal this season.

Speed was the driving force between all three of Masereka’s prior goals this season. He essentially created the Terps’ first goal of the evening with his speed, but the score went to a teammate.

Masereka bursted past defender Nigel Prince inside the 18-yard box, but tripped Masereka instead. Junior Leon Koehl converted the ensuing spot kick with an inch-perfect finish past Hangi in the bottom left corner.

A defective Northwestern (5-3-1, 1-2-0 Big Ten) slide tackle was integral in the Terps’ next score, which happened just a minute and 24 seconds later.

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Ndrenika had a direct run at goal after a Wildcat defender couldn’t stop a pass with a slide. The senior wrapped his goal into the far post just a few seconds later.

Ndrenika typically stays in the central channels of the pitch, as Maryland’s primary attacking midfielder, but Cirovski shifted the senior to a wider position for Friday’s match, with sophomore Stephane Njike serving his red-card suspension from the previous match.

The senior’s positioning difference didn’t alter his creative mentality.

“I tried doing more take-ons. I tried getting down the line a little bit, [to] give some more crosses,” Ndrenika said. “My goal coming into this game is just: create a goal.”

Northwestern cut into Maryland’s two-goal lead with a 37th-minute score, which was one of their only clear first-half chances from open play.

The Wildcats mostly tested goalkeeper Laurin Mack on corner kicks. They forced Mack to make the split-second decision of holding his ground or punching the ball away from goal. He tended to opt for the latter, as the Terps cleared all five of Northwestern’s first-half corners.

[Maryland men’s soccer has ample depth. It’s showing late in games.]

On the other end, Maryland’s corner production was relatively meager — partially the result of Njike’s absence. The sophomore often draws corners with his silky dribbling. He also takes all of the Terps’ right-footed inswingers.

Maryland created just one first half corner, which the Northwestern defense made easy work of after a substandard delivery. The Terps’ set piece production was a microcosm of its opening 30 minutes, with Cirovski admitting his side wasn’t “crisp” on either side of the ball.

“It wasn’t bad by any means, but it wasn’t the level we want. But then when we got the first goal, that energized us,” he said. “I thought our guys showed a lot of character [in] the second half.”

The Terps’ last goal wasn’t exactly pretty. They added a final score in the 77th minute, after Hangi punched a corner straight into the air. The Wildcats keeper scrambled, but couldn’t stop it from back-spinning beyond the frame for an own goal.

It was a direct foil to Masereka’s stunning goal from earlier in the half.

“Sadam’s just a moment’s player,” Ndrenika said. “He creates special moments out of nothing, and it was another example tonight.”