Friday, September 26
College Park, Md.
6 p.m. CT
Northwestern
at
Maryland
Photo by: Henry Frieman/Northwestern Athletics
‘Cats Set For Friday Night Tilt At No. 23 Maryland
9/25/2025 11:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Northwestern looks for third straight victory
EVANSTON, Ill. (September 25, 2025) – Winners of back-to-back games, Northwestern men's soccer (5-2-1, 1-1 B1G) heads east to College Park, Md. on Friday evening for a 6 p.m. CT meeting with No. 23 Maryland at Ludwig Field.
Friday's matchup against the Terrapins serves as a reunion for Wildcats' head coach Russell Payne and midfielder Joe Suchecki. Payne, who is now in his fifth season at Northwestern, won an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title as a student-athlete at Maryland before helping guide the team to a pair of national titles (2005, 2008) as an assistant coach. Prior to arriving in Evanston ahead of the 2024 season, Suchecki appeared in 40 games for the Terrapins, making three NCAA Tournament appearances.
LAST TIME OUT
Northwestern jumped out to an early lead last Friday against Rutgers, scoring twice inside the opening 20 minutes, before holding off a late onslaught by the Scarlet Knights en route to a 2-1 victory at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium.
Aaron O'Reilly got Northwestern off the mark less than five minutes in, directing home a feed from Alejandro Martinez Santamaria for the night's opening goal. Martinez Santamaria turned from provider to scorer in the 18th minute, getting on the end of Baraka Tarleton's through ball before depositing his effort into the back of the net to double Northwestern's advantage for a goal that proved to be the game-winner.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
Maryland (5-0-2, 1-0-1 B1G) continued its unbeaten start to 2025 on Tuesday at Penn State, battling back on the road to salvage a 2-2 draw with the Nittany Lions. Lasse Kelp's 86th-minute goal brought the 10-man Terrapins level after the hosts had gone in front just 78 seconds earlier. Decorated head coach Sasho Cirovski's team entered the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 at the start of the week, debuting at No. 23 ahead of its matchup with Penn State.
Maryland features one of the nation's top offensive attacks, ranking near the top of Division I in multiple categories. The Terrapins average 2.86 goals per game, a tally that leads the Big Ten and sits seventh on the national charts. Maryland also resides in the top 10 nationally in assists per game (2nd; 3.6), shots per game (6th; 18.3), and shots on goal per game (9th; 7.6).
Cirovski boasts a wealth of talent in the final third, with four Terrapins having tallied multiple goals as part of a group of 13 different scorers through the season's first seven games. Stephane Njike (3 goals, 2 assists) and Rocket Ritarita (2 goals, 4 assists) share the team's overall points lead, while Sadam Masereka has matched Njike with three goals on the year.
2024 Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree Laurin Mack has posted three shutouts through his first seven outings in goal and sports a 0.86 goals against average that ranks third in the conference.
SERIES STUFF
In an all-time series that traces its roots back to a 3-2 Wildcat victory during the 2014 season, Maryland owns an 8-4-2 (.643) lead in 14 previous meetings with Northwestern.
The Terrapins have gained the upper hand of late, going 5-1-2 (.750) across the previous eight matchups between the two teams. Northwestern's lone win in that stretch came in its last visit to Ludwig Field on September 29, 2023, as goals from Collin McCamy and Christopher Thaggard, along with a seven-save effort from Jackson Weyman, propelled the 'Cats to a 2-0 victory.
Maryland exacted a measure of revenge last season, dealing Northwestern a 2-1 setback at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium on September 27.
UP NEXT
Northwestern faces a quick turnaround, as it returns to Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium on Monday, September 29 to entertain Washington in a 7 p.m. CT kickoff that will be televised on Big Ten Network.
Friday's matchup against the Terrapins serves as a reunion for Wildcats' head coach Russell Payne and midfielder Joe Suchecki. Payne, who is now in his fifth season at Northwestern, won an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title as a student-athlete at Maryland before helping guide the team to a pair of national titles (2005, 2008) as an assistant coach. Prior to arriving in Evanston ahead of the 2024 season, Suchecki appeared in 40 games for the Terrapins, making three NCAA Tournament appearances.
LAST TIME OUT
Northwestern jumped out to an early lead last Friday against Rutgers, scoring twice inside the opening 20 minutes, before holding off a late onslaught by the Scarlet Knights en route to a 2-1 victory at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium.
Aaron O'Reilly got Northwestern off the mark less than five minutes in, directing home a feed from Alejandro Martinez Santamaria for the night's opening goal. Martinez Santamaria turned from provider to scorer in the 18th minute, getting on the end of Baraka Tarleton's through ball before depositing his effort into the back of the net to double Northwestern's advantage for a goal that proved to be the game-winner.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
Maryland (5-0-2, 1-0-1 B1G) continued its unbeaten start to 2025 on Tuesday at Penn State, battling back on the road to salvage a 2-2 draw with the Nittany Lions. Lasse Kelp's 86th-minute goal brought the 10-man Terrapins level after the hosts had gone in front just 78 seconds earlier. Decorated head coach Sasho Cirovski's team entered the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 at the start of the week, debuting at No. 23 ahead of its matchup with Penn State.
Maryland features one of the nation's top offensive attacks, ranking near the top of Division I in multiple categories. The Terrapins average 2.86 goals per game, a tally that leads the Big Ten and sits seventh on the national charts. Maryland also resides in the top 10 nationally in assists per game (2nd; 3.6), shots per game (6th; 18.3), and shots on goal per game (9th; 7.6).
Cirovski boasts a wealth of talent in the final third, with four Terrapins having tallied multiple goals as part of a group of 13 different scorers through the season's first seven games. Stephane Njike (3 goals, 2 assists) and Rocket Ritarita (2 goals, 4 assists) share the team's overall points lead, while Sadam Masereka has matched Njike with three goals on the year.
2024 Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree Laurin Mack has posted three shutouts through his first seven outings in goal and sports a 0.86 goals against average that ranks third in the conference.
SERIES STUFF
In an all-time series that traces its roots back to a 3-2 Wildcat victory during the 2014 season, Maryland owns an 8-4-2 (.643) lead in 14 previous meetings with Northwestern.
The Terrapins have gained the upper hand of late, going 5-1-2 (.750) across the previous eight matchups between the two teams. Northwestern's lone win in that stretch came in its last visit to Ludwig Field on September 29, 2023, as goals from Collin McCamy and Christopher Thaggard, along with a seven-save effort from Jackson Weyman, propelled the 'Cats to a 2-0 victory.
Maryland exacted a measure of revenge last season, dealing Northwestern a 2-1 setback at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium on September 27.
UP NEXT
Northwestern faces a quick turnaround, as it returns to Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium on Monday, September 29 to entertain Washington in a 7 p.m. CT kickoff that will be televised on Big Ten Network.
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