A major part of No. 4 Maryland men's soccer's regular season success last season was their ability to win with a variety of play styles against stout opponents. The Terps went 5-0 against ranked opponents in 2025 and looked to replicate that success Saturday night against No. 9 High Point.
After a grueling 80 minutes, Rodrigo Neri became the hero for Terps, scoring his first goal of the season and the eventual game winner as the Terps outlasted the Panthers for a 1-0 victory.
"It was a well-played and hard fought game," said head coach Sasho Cirovski. "It was a game where you needed a special play to win it."
Franklin Affanyi cleared the ball deep into the Panthers half of the field where Neri was able to track down the ball and gain control with a chest touch. Neri then slid to his left past two defenders and found the bottom right corner of the net past the Panthers' Josh Caron. The freshman had been an offensive spark all game for the Terps, totaling six of the Terps' 18 shots.
"This is the best home crowd someone could ask for," said Neri. "Those last moments that are very hard… you hear them and you just want to push even harder."

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