Conference Chaos
Two upsets and a last-second equalizer highlighted the first night of conference play
The start of conference play brought madness in men’s soccer! Upsets, a top-10 battle, and a few backflips .
‘Cats stun No. 2 Terps
Behind goals from four different players, Northwestern knocked off No. 2 Maryland 4-0 to earn the highest-ranked win of head coach Russell Payne’s tenure and the program’s first top-five victory in nearly 10 years.
"That’s one of the best teams in the country we just beat, and we showed ourselves that when we play to our standards, we’re capable of anything,” said Payne after the game.
Peter Riesz opened the scoring in the 14th minute for Northwestern and Italo Addimandi tacked on another before halftime, while the Wildcat defense held the Terrapins without a shot in the first half. That changed in the second half with Maryland firing 13 shots, but it was the ‘Cats’ night. Andrew Millar and Ethan Nakolo added two more tallies to put the match out of reach. More from Evanston .
Scarlet Knights take down No. 11 Bruins
On Friday night, Rutgers notched its first ranked win since 2024 with a 3-1 defeat of No. 11 UCLA. The Bruins appeared to take control early when Zachary Neuls scored in the fourth minute, but the Scarlet Knights answered back 10 minutes later with Nick Collins’ equalizer. The 1-1 score lasted into the second half until Erick Ruiz buried the game-winner for Rutgers . UCLA pressed for the equalizer late, but William Pierce scored his first goal as a Scarlet Knight in the 88th minute to seal the upset win in Piscataway. Read Rutgers’ recap .
Top-10 matchup ends in a dramatic stalemate
The much-anticipated tilt between No. 3 Ohio State and No. 8 Wisconsin lived up to the hype on Friday. The intense battle between the undefeated Buckeyes and Badgers was knotted at 0-0 until Aaron Hurge put Ohio State ahead with what seemed like the winning goal with just over four minutes to play. But Wisconsin had other plans. With eight seconds left to play, Matthew Zachemski (also number eight) lofted a shot off the crossbar and into the net to earn the Badgers the draw — the second-straight buzzer beater for Wisconsin ( see the last one ).
Northwestern and Rutgers look to build momentum
For both Northwestern and Rutgers, there is further opportunity to cement themselves as national contenders.
The Wildcats are right back to it on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. ET matchup on Big Ten Network against No. 10 Michigan State in East Lansing. The Spartans are looking to bounce back from a loss for the first time this year, after falling 3-1 to Kansas City on Friday.
Meanwhile, Rutgers will host No. 16 Princeton on Tuesday evening (7 p.m. ET on B1G+). The Tigers are off to a hot start — they’re unbeaten and winners of four straight including a 2-0 win against No. 3 Portland last month.
Check out the full upcoming schedule here .
Photo credit: nusports.com