No. 1 seed IU men’s soccer looks to earn a spot in the Big Ten Tournament championship for the third consecutive year Wednesday when it takes on Maryland in the tournament semifinals.
The Hoosiers have not played the Terrapins yet this season. Maryland was scheduled to come to Bloomington on April 4, but canceled the game due to non-COVID-19 related issues.
IU handily defeated Northwestern in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday behind two goals from sophomore striker Victor Bezerra and a clean sheet from sophomore goalkeeper Roman Celentano.
Bezerra was named to the College Soccer News Team of the Week for his performance against the Wildcats. Bezerra leads the Big Ten and is tied for ninth in the nation with eight goals this season.
Maryland was picked by the Big Ten coaches to finish second in the conference in a preseason poll but lost the first three games of its season. Since then, Maryland has earned a result in each of its six games, including four victories, and came into the tournament as the No. 4 seed.
Maryland won its first round matchup against Rutgers on penalty kicks.
IU men’s soccer head coach Todd Yeagley said Maryland’s side is dealing with injuries and doesn’t have much depth.
Maryland lost seniors Ben and Matt Di Rosa, its right and left backs, shortly before the season started after both were selected in the MLS SuperDraft. Matt Di Rosa was a CoSIDA Second Team Academic All-American in 2019.
“They’ve given time to these young players or older players who haven’t had big roles,” Yeagley said. “Just like we have. Some of the key performances have been redshirt sophomores like Ryan Wittenbrink, others that just needed time to get comfortable.”
IU will kick off against Maryland at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Bloomington.
