Maryland closed the regular season on a six-game winning streak, including four victories over ranked opponents, to claim the Big Ten regular-season title. MSU’s struggles against Maryland continued, as the Spartans remain winless against the Terrapins since 2018, with only two ties during that stretch.

Rensing made a couple of small changes to his lineup, tweaking his formation to a more basic 4-4-2 with junior Richie Ludwig and freshman Luke Spadafora as the team’s two strikers. The only change for the starters from last week at Rutgers was forward Oscar Huerta making his first start since the opening game of the season against UC Riverside in August.

The Spartans’ defense needed to be nearly perfect to contain Maryland’s high-powered attack and keep the game within reach, but they couldn’t keep up as senior Sadam Masereka took over. His first goal came in the 22nd minute, when defender Luca Costabile carried the ball upfield and laid it off to midfielder Joseph Umberto Picotto, who slipped a pass through an MSU defender’s legs to Masereka, and he buried a shot into the bottom left corner to open the scoring.

There was no answer for Masereka, who continued to display his quality, positioning himself perfectly for his second goal. Forward Stephane Njike sparked the play, cutting in from the left wing and curling a shot toward goalkeeper Zac Kelly’s left. Kelly made the initial save, but the rebound fell to Masereka for an easy finish. Njike struck again down the left side minutes later, sending a ball into the box that pinballed around, taking a deflection off Picotto before landing at Masereka’s feet. He calmly tucked it into the net to complete his 12-minute first-half hat trick.

MSU got its first goal late in the first half when Ludwig played a ball to junior midfielder Miles Merritt, who blasted a shot from well outside the box into the top right corner for a stunning finish. Merritt, who joined the team’s list of top scorers this season, added an assist in the 75th minute when he whipped in a corner that defender Charlie Norkett headed down into the center of the box. The ball pinballed around before Josh Adam buried it into the roof of the net for his first goal of the season — a fitting moment in the senior’s final game.

"Yeah, he had a really good season. I mean, that was a special strike. You know you don’t see those too often, and he’s been great," Rensing said regarding Merritt. "I think, making the jump from Incarnate Word to the Big Ten, he’s shown a lot of bright spots."

The Spartans had a little more magic left, finding a final goal in the 86th minute when forward Peter Soudan played Huerta through on goal. Huerta curled a left-footed shot into the bottom left corner for his first goal of the season. Despite the loss, MSU became the first team this season to score three goals against the top-ranked Terrapins — a small but meaningful positive against a talented Maryland side.

Njike was a constant nightmare for the defense down the left wing and was debatably the most dangerous part of the Terrapins attack, assisting two goals and scoring one of his own. Masereka dribbled past the defense, driving the in-line and centering it into the box, where Njike would get a foot on the ball where it would slowly roll into the bottom left corner with Kelly unable to get across and keep it out. The Frenchman was unstoppable in this game, with the Spartans attack keeping them alive until the end, but it wouldn’t be enough to take down this dominant Terrapin team.

Despite losing, the Spartans left it all on the field in their final game, competing with the No.1 team in the country until the final whistle. MSU men’s soccer will finish their rollercoaster season with a 5-8-3 record with some historic and memorable moments for the players and their fans.