MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin men's soccer team fell to Maryland in the first Big Ten match of the season. The Badgers tied the game in the second half with a Zachemski penalty kick, before the Terps scored two more times to seal their win.
How It Happened:
The match started off slow with each team trading goal opportunities. UW keeper Matisse Hébert showed off his hands 10 minutes into the game when Maryland forward Sadam Masereka fired a shot to the top of the net.
The Badgers had an opportunity of their own in the 23rd minute when Zachemski sent a free kick towards the front of the goal and Jones' redirecting header hit the crossbar.
Maryland got on the scoreboard first when a defensive miscue gave the Terrapins a penalty kick. It was junior Leon Koehl who found the back of the net in the 24th minute to give Maryland the 1-0 lead.
Wisconsin evened the score with a penalty kick of their own in the 57th minute. Sophomore Matthew Zachemski netted his second of the season to even up the score.
The Terps quickly regained the lead in the 68th minute with a goal from Stephane Nijke. Nine minutes later they added another when Chris Steinleitnar sent a pass to Rocket Ritarita to take the 3-1 lead.
Straight From The Pitch:
Head coach
Neil Jones:
"Congratulations to Maryland on the three points tonight. Unfortunate result for us, but a very encouraging performance despite the scoreline. Overall, we played much better than we have in the last couple of games, and we were extremely hardworking and made it difficult for Maryland, but unfortunately, the game came down to a few special moments from some of their attacking players who made some game changing plays, and sometimes you cannot deal with that.
But overall encouraging signs as we head out on the road to play a very good and difficult UCLA team."
Up Next: UW will head to the west coast on Friday, Sept. 19 for a clash with the UCLA Bruins. The match will kickoff in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. CT and will air on Big Ten Network. Live updates will be given @BadgerMSoccer on X (formerly twitter).
