Maryland
Maryland men’s soccer asserts itself in 3-0 defeat of No. 8 Wisconsin
On multiple occasions, Maryland men’s soccer head coach Sasho Cirovski has said that his program views its 2024 campaign as a “revenge season” for its historically bad 2023 season.
Friday night, the Terps delivered a dominating win over a top-10 conference opponent, and Cirovski’s claims rang true.
Maryland opened conference play with a 3-0 victory against previously unbeaten No. 8 Wisconsin, getting goals from Chris Steinleitner, Bjarne Thiesen and Colin Griffith.
“Absolutely delighted with the effort, that was our best performance of the year,” Cirovski said. “It was a complete effort from beginning to end and it’s something we’ve been building to.”
If you didn’t have any background information, you certainly wouldn’t have known Maryland was the underdog after watching the first 20 minutes of the match. Almost instantaneously after kickoff, Bjarne Thiesen got free for a header that was cleared off the line.
That chance set the tone for the game’s first half, as Maryland threatened in Wisconsin’s final third much more than it was being threatened in its own.
All these chances seemed to come to a head when Max Rogers pressured Wisconsin’s goalkeeper into a botched clearance straight to Griffith. Griffith played it straight back into Rogers, who turned and fired a low-driven shot that looked like it might find the bottom corner until it stung the post.
For a moment, it seemed Maryland had squandered its chance and were destined for another half of strong play without anything to show for it.
Then, on the ensuing corner, he ball fell in front of Steinleitner right around the penalty spot. He put his laces through it before it could hit the ground and drove it right into the bottom-right corner.
“Finally we had that [offensive effectiveness that we wanted,” Steinleitner said. “We had like a lot of shots before in every game, but we didn’t translate that into goals.”
The goal remained the difference at the end of the first 45 minutes and the Terps went to the locker room protecting a one-goal lead over the nation’s No. 8 team.
While it may have seemed natural for the Terps to exit their halftime recess by playing conservatively and defending their lead, they came out of the locker room like they were the team trailing.
Early in the half, the Terps won a free kick from near the right touch line. Rogers stood over the ball and delivered a fantastic ball into the penalty area that Steinleitner flicked into the path of a streaking Thiesen, who headed it into the back of Wisconsin’s net, doubling Maryland’s lead.
Maryland wasn’t done there, either. Just over five minutes later and for the second game in a row, Griffith displayed some amazing skill as he curled the ball into the top right corner.
“He had a very difficult injury prone year last year and we challenged him to put in the work this summer…” Cirovski said, “…. goal scorers build a lot of confidence when they score so he looks like a confident player at the moment.”
There the game remained as Maryland’s defense stood tall and held its first clean sheet of the season against an offense averaging over three goals per game.
Three things to know
1. Different formation produced offensive results. With forward Luke Van Heukelum out with a shoulder injury, Cirovski was forced to make a change to his normal lineup and formation. He shifted to a 4-3-3 and brought Steinleitner into the midfield, who rewarded him with a goal.
2. Ranking on the way? Far from usual expectations, the first month of the season passed without Maryland sniffing the weekly top 20 rankings. After a win of this magnitude, one might assume it will be close to if not in the next edition.
3. Maryland has become a set piece threat. Steinletner’s goal from the corner and Thiesen’s off the free kick marked Maryland’s fifth and sixth goals from some form of set piece this season. The ability to manufacture goals from these situations will be invaluable in conference play.
“Max [Rogers] is serving a great ball,” Thiesen said, “So it’s more about us just getting in there and getting our head on something.”
Maryland schools made nation-leading strides in their recovery from students’ learning loss in the pandemic, data show.
Maryland schools made nation-leading strides in their recovery from students’ learning loss in the pandemic, according to new data.
They ranked third in the nation in their students’ reading recovery rates, and were fifth in math recovery, according to the 2025 Education Scorecard from Harvard and Stanford Universities and Dartmouth College.
D.C. led the U.S. in math and reading recovery.
The data was presented at the Maryland State Board of Education meeting Thursday.
Trish Brennan-Gac, executive director of literacy nonprofit Maryland READS, said the state board is correct to celebrate gains in reading, but proficiency is “nowhere near where we need to be.”
“It is not that we are No. 3-ranked in reading proficiency,” she told WTOP. “It’s a rate of change, and we are making a faster rate of change,” than most school districts nationally.
Brennan-Gac was at the meeting to ask that the state board consider ways to reduce the use of technology in classroom instruction and support a return to print and textbooks in schools.
“This is no longer a fringe concern. It is a growing movement, and it’s not about social media and phones,” she told the board.
Brennan-Gac said the board and Maryland schools superintendent Carey Wright can take a “visible meaningful leadership role.”
“You can develop transition guidance and funding pathways for districts that are ready to move now, and send a clear signal to the field that Maryland prioritizes developmentally appropriate instruction aligned to brain research that shows how books, not tech-based platforms, are effective in wiring kids’ brains for reading,” she said.
The Maryland State Department of Education has issued guidance to school districts on the use of cellphones in schools, and this year issued guidance on the use of artificial intelligence. In both instances, the state has made clear that it leaves implementation of policies to individual school districts.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
Gov. Wes Moore has requested a federal disaster declaration to help farmers recover from their losses after temperatures dipped into the 20s in April, devastating some of Maryland’s agriculture industry.
Temperatures dipped into the low to mid 20s for several hours, causing widespread damage to crops, wine grapes, berries, peaches and apples in some parts of the state.
“We had 6, 7 hours I believe here under 32 and that’s just a lot of stress on those small fruits and buds,” said Ben Butler, the farm manager of Butler’s Orchard in Germantown back in April.
Moore asked for the U.S. agriculture secretary to declare a federal disaster using Maryland Farm Service Agency data to back up the request. According to the agency, there were historic losses, including 94% of the apple crop, 99% of the peach crop and 98% of the barley in several jurisdictions.
The Maryland Wineries Association says 36% of grape acreage sustained total losses, with a $24.4 million projected deficit in wine sales for the 2026 vintage.
“For the majority of the varieties, the yield, the 2026 crop yield, will essentially be zero,” said Robert Butz, the owner of Windridge Vineyards.
The hours-long deep freeze in April left grapes at Windridge Vineyards in Germantown dead on the vine.
News4 visited Windridge Vineyards just a few days after the disaster. Butz said not only were there grape losses, some of the vines were damaged as well. He called the devastation “catastrophic.”
It’s challenging, but he said he’s pleased with the support being given to local farmers and the disaster declaration request.
“This announcement by the governor is further evidence of that, right,” Butz said. “Marylanders care about their farmers. That’s great.It’s incredibly gratifying for those who do this work.”
Moore is asking the agriculture secretary for a quick decision so emergency loans and relief programs are made available right away so farmers can prepare for the next growing season.
-
News26 minutes agoPride celebrations struggle as corporate sponsorships dry up
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoMan stabbed to death after violent dog attack on Hollywood Walk of Fame
-
Detroit, MI2 hours ago
Black Legacy Day to be celebrated May 30th in Detroit
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoA 1906 fire burned 200,000 books. More than a century later, one was returned | CNN
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoCowboys news: More moves that Dallas could make this offseason
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoHere’s a guide to the seven World Cup teams (and their fans) headed to Miami | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoStormy Saturday, slightly sunnier Sunday – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
-
Denver, CO3 hours agoStorm threat for northeastern Colorado Saturday; sunny and warmer Sunday
