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Men's soccer: Maryland vs. Rutgers preview

The Terrapins' season finale brings the Scarlet Knights to College Park on senior night.

Ryan Connors/Testudo Times

The Maryland men's soccer team comes into its season finale against No. 21 Rutgers this Wednesday in a very different position than the team is used to being in. The Terps are unranked in the Coaches Poll and are sixth in the Big Ten standings after losing 1-0 to No. 23 Ohio State on Saturday.

Wednesday's senior night will see Terps midfielder Mael Corboz will take on his former team, having spent two years playing for the Scarlet Knights before transferring to College Park. Corboz, Tsubasa Endoh, Dakota Edwards and David Kabelik will all be honored before taking their positions on Ludwig Field, potentially for the last time.

Rutgers comes into this game on a seven-game winning streak, with victories coming against Big Ten foes Michigan, Northwestern and Ohio State. The team ranks higher in Maryland in RPI, coming in at No. 29 while the Terps sit six spots behind at No. 35. The Scarlet Knights are second in the Big Ten standings behind Ohio State, although Rutgers did top the Buckeyes 1-0 last week.

How to Witness:

Online: Streaming on BTN2go.

Twitter: Follow @ryanconnors for updates from the game.

Players to watch:

Jason Wright, forward. The sophomore leads the Big Ten with an astounding 13 goals, which is three more than the conference's next highest-scoring player and more than twice as many as anyone else on his team. He's been named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week three times, and scored the team's only goal in its win over Ohio State.

JP Correa, forward/midfielder. The senior leads the team with five assists, which also puts him at third in the conference in that category. He's third on the team in goals, and is one of the key guys who make it possible for Wright to dominate the way he has.

David Greczek, goalkeeper. Greczek is third in the Big Ten in saves per game and save percentage, but he is middle-of-the-road in the conference in goals against average and shutouts per game. He's solid but certainly not spectacular.

Strength:

They actually play offense. So many of the teams the Terps have faced just "pack it in" defensively and let Maryland bang its head against a wall for 70 minutes, then score on a counter attack. Rutgers doesn't play that way. The Scarlet Knights lead the conference in goals per game by 0.75 goals, and are third in shots per game at 15.56. They also have a goal differential of plus-20.

Weaknesses:

Not many. Rutgers scores a goal per game more than its opponents do, doesn't commit too many fouls, and has solid, if not outstanding goalkeeping. This will be a stiff test for the Terrapins, but if they plan on going far in the Big Ten Tournament, they're going to need to be able to beat teams like Rutgers.