Maryland men’s soccer shoots up the United Soccer Coaches poll to No. 11

The Maryland men’s soccer team skyrocketed up the United Soccer Coaches poll on Tuesday, jumping to the 11th spot after being the unofficial No. 26 team in the preseason poll.

The 15 spot move established the Terrapins as the second highest-ranked team in the Big Ten, surpassing Penn State (now No. 17) who was previously the No. 11 team in the country.

Maryland is hot to start the season, knocking off then-No. 18 Charlotte in the season opener before a four-goal outing against in-state rival UMBC. At 2-0, the Terps are off to its best start since 2017, a season in which they went 13 games (10-0-3) before losing their first game.

While that feat may be tough to eclipse, this season’s solid start has Maryland in a good place following an injury-riddled spring season. But even with the rise to No. 11, the Terrapins have their eyes set on the future.

“Our hope is to be a team that contends in the rankings at the end of the year,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said. “At this point our goal is on getting better from game to game, establishing stronger relationships and fine-tuning some of the details in our game.”

That agenda translates to its players as well, as defender Nick Richardson wants to focus on building the team’s chemistry and confidence rather than worry about their placement in the national rankings.

“Taking initiative throughout our play style and who we want to be is more important to us,” Richardson said. “I think that Top-25 thing usually means a lot to other people around the system, but to us, it’s just kind of another thing.”