The Terps beat a top-10 conference opponent in the regular season for the first time since 2019.
It’s been five days since Maryland men’s soccer’s season reached its apex — so far.
The Terps not only beat what looked to be one of the best teams in the Big Ten, but they did dominated, defeating then-No. 8 Wisconsin, 3-0.
What made Maryland an underdog heading into the contest was the challenge Wisconsin’s defense presented on paper. The Terps’ attack had perviously been limited in its ability to create chances, particularly when playing better opponents, while the Badgers’ back end had allowed just two goals in the previous five games.
Maryland’s defense already proved capable of slowing down offenses, not allowing more than two goals to any prior opponent. Still, it seemed as if Maryland were to win the game, it would necessitate a low-scoring, gritty affair.
And while the Terps’ defense did play a fantastic game, their offense was even more impressive.
There are multiple possible explanations for their improvement, the simplest being that the Terps changed formations for the first time this season. The alteration, however, was not a random stroke of inspiration from head coach Sasho Cirovski, more a hand that was forced due to forward Luke Van Heukelum’s injury.
Without a reliable striker on the bench, Cirovski abandoned his 4-2-2-2 formation for a 4-3-3 with a holding midfielder. Chris Steinleitner, who scored the game’s opening goal, assumed the holding position and looked to be a natural fit.
“We had maybe a little bit of a problem about that space,” center back Bjarne Thiesen said. “[Steinleitner] filled it up perfectly. There were less runs on our last line. He was always there. He won headers, he won challenges.”
This formation also requires the sole forward to be a true goal-scoring threat, akin to an Erling Haaland, Luis Suarez or Harry Kane. Maryland certainly doesn’t have the luxury of any of those players, but it does have Colin Griffith, who appears to be finding his stride as a goal scorer after some rocky performances.
Cirovski was less willing to credit the refinement to the new formation, though. He has consistently stated that his program is built on principles of play as opposed to systems, and calls his formations the “starting point” from which he gives his players freedom.
The win moved Maryland from a prospective mid-table Big Ten team to a team to beat. The result is also aging well, as Wisconsin convincingly beat one of the conference’s presumptive favorites in then-No. 12 UCLA, 4-1, on Monday.
The United Soccer Coaches don’t believe the win merits a single vote for Maryland, according to their recent poll, but the Terps will quickly get a chance to affirm that the win was no fluke. Over the next nine days, they will battle conference powers Indiana and No. 20 Northwestern.
Entering these contests, it is reasonable to expect the Terps to employ the same lineup and tactics they used against Wisconsin. The only potential imminent change would be to slot Albi Ndrenika into the starting line up when he is fully recovered.