The Terps are heading into the postseason on a three-game losing streak.
After two months of relative success, No. 3-seed Maryland men’s soccer is skidding into postseason play on a three-game losing streak.
The Terps haven’t looked the same since midfielder Leon Koehl, and recently, William Kulvik suffered injuries, and will now face No. 6-seed UCLA on Thursday.
The game will take place in Bridgeview, Illinois at SeatGeek Stadium and kickoff at 3:30 p.m. EST.
What happened last time
The last time these two teams met, Maryland’s season took a turn for the worse. The Terps entered the game on an 11-game unbeaten streak, having won three in a row.
The Terps rose as high as No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and were first in the Big Ten standings. The Bruins were No. 19 at the time.
The game started well for the Terps. About halfway through the opening half, Sadam Masereka outpaced a UCLA wingback and beat the keeper with a nutmeg to put Maryland up, 1-0.
The game looked even, though, as UCLA threatened for an equalizer, forcing Laurin Mack to make two first-half saves. The worst moment of Maryland’s season thus far came on the verge of halftime, when Koehl went down with a foot injury. He left the game on a cart and hasn’t played since.
In the second half, Maryland looked disjointed without its star in the middle of the pitch.
UCLA outplayed the Terps for the majority of the second half and were eventually rewarded, as a beautiful sequence of passes led to an equalizing goal by Tamir Ratovitz.
The score remained 1-1, but there was still drama left for the Terps. With around 25 minutes left, Cirovski subbed leading scorer Colin Griffith out and the two proceeded to get in a heated argument on the sideline.
Griffith hasn’t scored since and missed a penalty kick in a loss to Michigan.
What’s happened since
Without Koehl, Maryland has looked like a drastically different team and has suffered a three-game losing streak.
Two of those games were to bottom-dwellers in the Big Ten, Michigan and Rutgers. Both programs beat the Terps by multiple goals on the road.
At the end of the Rutgers game, the Terps’ best defender, Kulvik, went down with a head injury that kept him out of their season finale against No. 1 Ohio State.
Maryland appeared in better form that game against the Buckeyes, but still walked away with a 2-1 loss.
Maryland had enough success early that it still secured the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten, but the Terps fell all the way from being ranked No. 2 to out of the United Soccer Coaches poll entirely.
UCLA also hasn’t won a game since its contest with the Terps, but it only played twice against more formidable opponents in Washington and Indiana.
Indiana won a share of the Big Ten regular season title and is the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
The Bruins lost their season finale to Washington, 1-0, after a late goal with around 13 minutes to play.
Three things to watch
1. Kulvik and Koehl return? Kulvik or Koehl potentially playing for the Terps would be a huge boost for the team. It feels unlikely that Koehl will play, but he was out of his walking boot at the Terps’ last game.
2. Overtime and penalties? For the first time this season, Maryland will be playing in a game that has the potential to go to an overtime period and penalty shootout. This result seems highly possible based on the 1-1 draw in the last match up. How the Terps perform in an extra time period could be the difference between a birth to the semifinals or first-round exit in the conference tournament.
3. Can Cirovski help the team regroup? Early this season, the question was whether or not Cirovski could turn the team around after a historically poor 2023 season. He answered the bell once, going 12 straight games without a loss. Now, he is tasked once again with turning the team around if he hopes to make a postseason run.