The Terps slip in despite a disastrous end to conference play.
Despite a rough end to its conference season, Maryland men’s soccer was selected for an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Terps are unseeded and will play Long Island the first round, which will take place at Ludwig Field on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
For a large portion of the season, Maryland looked like a lock to be one of the 16 seeded teams in the tournament, as well as a possible contender for the No. 1 overall seed. The Terps season turned after a draw against UCLA, though, in which star midfielder Leon Koehl was injured. They ended the year with four straight losses, including a first-round exit in the Big Ten Tournament, when they were crushed by UCLA, 6-0.
However, Maryland did enough early in the year, including a 12-game unbeaten streak, to be placed in the tournament, and should be back at near-full strength with Koehl back in the lineup.
If Maryland can beat Long Island it will play No. 8-seed Wake Forest in the second round. The other seeded team in its region is No. 9-seed Clemson.
Maryland lost to Long Island in the opening round of the 2021 tournament. It has made the NCAA Tournament in 29 of 32 seasons under head coach Sasho Cirovski.