University of Maryland men’s soccer announces 2016 fall schedule

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (Via University of Maryland) – Head coach Sasho Cirovski and the Maryland men’s soccer program announced the 2016 fall slate Friday.

The Terrapins – who won a fourth straight league tournament championship a year ago before advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament – will face six 2015 NCAA Tournament teams including Big Ten opponents Indiana, Rutgers and Ohio State.

A total of 15 of the 17 contests are against teams that finished in the top 100 of the RPI a year ago. Eight different conferences are represented on the schedule including the Colonial Athletic Association, Pac-12, Big East, American Athletic Conference, Patriot League, West Coast Conference, Mid-American Conference and America East.

“Every year, we strive to put together one of the most challenging schedules in the country and this season is no different,” Cirovski said. “Every game on our schedule will be a test for our players and should prepare us for the rigors of postseason play. Our fans will certainly enjoy the exciting matches we have slated at Ludwig this season.”

Maryland opens up the regular season in Los Angeles against UCLA on Aug. 26 for a rematch of last year’s early-season tilt, which the Terps won 2-1 in overtime in front of a record crowd of 8,449 at Ludwig Field.

Cirovski’s squad then returns to College Park for a three-game home stand against Hartford (Aug. 29), Georgetown (Sept. 2) and South Florida (Sept. 5). The Terps will look to avenge last year’s loss to the rival Hoyas under the lights at Ludwig.

Maryland then embarks on a critical five-game stretch which features all conference matchups. The Terps return to the road for back-to-back conference games against Indiana (Sept. 9) and Rutgers (Sept. 13). The Terps and the Hoosiers played to two draws with Maryland advancing on penalty kicks in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals a year ago.

The Big Ten season continues with two home games against Penn State (Sept. 18) and Michigan State (Sept. 23) before going back on the road to Northwestern on Sept. 13.

San Diego travels to College Park for a midseason non-conference battle on Oct. 3followed by a rematch of last season’s Big Ten tournament championship against Ohio State on Oct. 7, which Maryland won 2-0 to capture their fourth-straight conference title in Columbus.
Maryland travels to West Virginia on Oct. 10before kicking off its final home stretch of the season with Wisconsin (Oct. 14), American (Oct. 18), Hofstra (Oct. 21) and Delaware (Oct. 25) at Ludwig Field.

The Terps round out the regular season on the road against Michigan on Oct. 25 before prepping for the Big Ten Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal matches on Nov. 5and Nov. 6 at campus sites.