In the first round of last season’s NCAA tournament, Stephane Njike put on an attacking clinic at Ludwig Field.
The then-freshman dribbled through defenders at will, earned an assist and scored a volley — which he celebrated by doing a backflip. Njike did all that in a LIU jersey, but that complete performance last November has foreshadowed the brilliance he’s displayed in his first season with No. 8 Maryland men’s soccer.
Njike once again displayed his dynamic attacking nature in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over No. 13 Rutgers at Ludwig Field. The forward played a part in both goals, as the Terps extended their unbeaten start to 11 matches. The win also propelled Maryland into first place in the Big Ten standings.
“You’re seeing a team with a great sense of pride in the way that we compete,” coach Sasho Cirovski said.
Njike entered the evening with a team-leading four goals — three of which he had scored at home. He added to that tally by bending a right-footed strike into the top corner of the goal early in Tuesday’s second half.
That goal highlighted the sophomore’s textbook finishing skills.
Njike entered Tuesday with a shot-on-target percentage of just below 50 percent. His score in Tuesday’s second half now gives him five goals on his 11 shots on-target this year, an improvement upon his 6-for-17 conversion rate with LIU last season.
The sophomore forward has been equally potent in other attacking facets.
[Maryland women’s soccer’s Big Ten road struggles continue in 2-0 loss to Nebraska]
Njike’s been Maryland’s most spirited dribbler from his position on the left wing, and he’s taken around half of the team’s free kicks with his preferred right foot. That set piece delivery occasionally translates to longer-ranged free kicks, as was the case in Tuesday’s second half.
Five minutes after giving the Terps a 1-0 lead, Njike took a free kick from the left flank. He lofted an inswinging cross just a few yards in front of the goal, where defender Tristen Rose flicked a header toward the net.
Rutgers goalkeeper Ciaran Dalton quickly reacted to make the close-range save, but midfielder Joseph Umberto Picotto — who assisted Njike on his prior score — tapped the ball in for his first goal in a Terps uniform. The Terps’ dominant second half was a continuation of their mostly commanding first period. The Scarlet Knights only seemed to have a foothold on the match inside the opening 15 minutes.
Rutgers forward Andrew Kitch and defender Nick Collins forced Laurin Mack — the reigning Big Ten goalkeeper of the week — to make a pair of saves inside the first 12 minutes. Mack comfortably collected one of them in front of the net. The other forced the sophomore to make a scrambling deflection off a free kick.
Mack said he felt the pair of early saves helped the Terps gain stability, and the game’s trends were indicative of that. Maryland largely dominated after those two Scarlet Knight opportunities.
[Maryland volleyball’s losing streak hits six as No. 7 Wisconsin sweeps]
After those two Scarlet Knight opportunities, Maryland largely dominated.
Umberto Picotto won a free kick within reasonable shot-taking distance in the 17th minute. Defender Lasse Kelp stepped forward for the ensuing set piece.
Kelp scored two free kicks in his three years with UMBC prior to transferring to Maryland. He emerged as the Terps’ primary free kick taker after curling in a left-footed effort to rescue a draw against Penn State in late September.
The ball was set in a position where it seemed Kelp would try to curl a shot into the top corner at the goalkeeper’s near post. Instead, his effort dipped toward the bottom corner and bounced in front of a diving Dalton.
The Scarlet Knights’ goalkeeper deflected the ball onto the post, marking Maryland’s closest chance of the first half. But Kelp’s free kick came amid a Terps run of seven unanswered shots over a 20-minute stretch.
Maryland ultimately entered halftime without a goal to validate its possession-packed first half — similar to Friday’s win over then-No. 13 Michigan.
“We had a hard time getting the ball across [in the first half],” Cirovski said. “Rutgers committed a lot of guys back, and they were blocking shots and blocking crosses.”
Tuesday was essentially the same: two second half goals, a shutout and another ranked victory at home.
But Cirovski still sees potential for improvement.
“We weren’t as sharp today as we were on Friday. We had some moments of brilliance, but we also had some moments that were not to the standard,” Cirovski said. “We’ll try to make sure we get the minds and bodies ready for an important match at Ohio State on the weekend.”
