Wisconsin men’s soccer lost 3-1 to the Maryland Terrapins, kicking off 2025 conference play at the McClimon Soccer Complex.
The Badgers started the season with an underwhelming 2-2 record and will need to turn things around to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Losing in Big Ten openers is nothing new for the Badgers: It’s the fourth straight season they have failed to start the season well under head coach Neil Jones. They lost to Penn State in 2022, tied Indiana in 2023 and lost to Maryland in 2024.
Maryland came out guns blazing, which can be expected from one of the best opponents the Badgers have faced this year on paper. Maryland, undefeated so far this season, showed they were not counting on losing against Wisconsin.
Jones made three changes to the starting lineup after their loss to Portland. He chose a 3-5-2 formation with Julian Kuhr starting as left fullback, Wade Stinson as the center back and Gianluca Del Priore as a double pivot next to Matthew Zachemski.
In the 11th minute, Wisconsin goalkeeper Matisse Hebert made a big save to stop Maryland’s Sadem Masereka from scoring on a volley that was going in the top right corner.
Eleven minutes later, Matthew Zachemski took a free kick near the right corner post. His cross was perfectly deposited near the penalty kick spot where Ellis Jones met it with a strong header that crashed on the bar.
Later Wisconsin came close to opening the score, but Maryland managed to clear the ball and set up a blitzing counter attack led by Masereka, who was taken down in the box by Kuhr. That foul led to a Maryland penalty kick, in a cruel turn of events for Wisconsin.
Leon Koehl, Maryland's number 6, was in charge of the penalty kick and buried it in the bottom right corner, catching Hebert on the wrong foot.
The first half ended with the Terps ahead 1-0.
The Badgers came into the second half with a lot of intensity. In the 56th minute, Julian Banks whipped a cross on the edge of the box intended for Thomas Raimbault, who was pushed from behind by a Maryland defender and couldn't get to the ball. The referee consulted video assistance and deemed the play was worthy of a penalty kick. Zachemski converted the penalty kick, tying the game at 1-1.
In the 68th minute, where Maryland had a three on three fast break, Ndrenika dribbled the ball up the field before passing it to Njika on the right flank. Njika, with a combo of stepovers, beat the Wisconsin defense and buried a shot in the bottom right corner that Hebert couldn’t save.
Only seven minutes later, Maryland extended its lead to 3-1. Midfielder Chris Steinleitner played a long ball past Wisconsin’s whole defense, which was perfectly calculated for Maryland forward Ritaria, who gently tapped it past Hebert without taking a touch.
This buried Wisconsin’s hopes. They were outmatched in the midfield, their offense struggled to create chances and their defense couldn’t keep up with Maryland's pace.
But the Badgers did have a few opportunities to close the gap. In the 79th minute, Ola Ansten crossed a freekick perfectly in the box for 6'3” Wade Stinson, who managed to get off a header that was saved by Maryland's goalie despite its speed and a tricky bounce.
The final whistle blew and the Terps went back to Maryland with a 3-1 road win. Wisconsin will look to break their two-game losing streak on Sept. 19 at UCLA.
