Maryland men’s soccer obliterated in final match of the season, 4-1

It was the 73rd minute, Ohio State still up just one goal with a 2-1 lead, when the Buckeyes decided to turn things up a notch. 

Connor DesRoches looked up, seeing space and teed up a shot from outside the box. The senior watched as the ball found its home in the bottom corner of the net, giving Saxon Wolcott no chance as the team went up 3-1.

However, Ohio State was not done there. 

Parker Grinstead got the ball just a minute later, and made an unbelievable cut before burying the ball in the opposite side netting to DesRoches. Grinstead celebrated his goal in fashion, griddying his way to the corner flag before being mobbed by his teammates as they smelled victory. 

Maryland men’s soccer (4-8-3, 0-6-2 Big Ten) found itself on the wrong end of a 4-1 rout in its final game of the season at Ohio State (5-6-5, 3-4-1 Big Ten) thanks to a dominant second half from the Buckeyes.

Despite the blowout, Maryland took the front foot in this one, holding possession while getting the better of the early chances. 

Their best chance in the stretch came from Kimani Stewart-Baynes, who continued to show his prowess on the left wing. The freshman midfielder nearly created an early goal for his team, sending a dangerous cross to Luke van Heukelum after some great build up play. Van Heukelum could not put it home, though, narrowly missing the post from a tough angle. 

The Terps’ defense held things down on the other side of the ball, blocking shots and clearing any opportunities the Buckeyes threw at them. This made things easy for freshman goalkeeper Saxon Wolcott, who was making his second career start and his first in Big Ten play. 

A little over 20 minutes into the game, Maryland’s work came to fruition. 

The offense delivered on a set piece, with freshman Leon Koehl sending in a dangerous ball from the corner. After pinballing around the box, the ball found its way to the foot of Bjarne Thiesen, who had no trouble tapping in the opening goal, giving his team an early 1-0 lead. 

Ohio State, now staring down a 1-0 deficit, struggled to convert its chances through the majority of the first half, but all of a sudden turned it up a notch in the final ten minutes with the newfound urgency. 

In the 38th minute, the Buckeyes very nearly hit a huge stroke of luck when Anthony Samways sent in a far post cross. Instead of reaching a player, it was just a couple inches high of becoming the game-tying goal, hitting the top of the crossbar.

Just two minutes later the team got another chance as a better cross found its way to the foot of an Ohio State player, forcing Wolcott to rush out and make a huge save.

However, Ohio State’s late momentum would all peak in the 44th minute. 

With the half closing in, Ohio State sent in another cross for the defense to deal with, Bjarne Thiesen heading it high into the air but not out of a dangerous position. Wolcott rushed out again, hoping to collect the cross, but was too late. Andre Roberts took advantage of Wolcott’s poor positioning, tapping in the easy header to make it 1-1 as the teams headed to halftime.

Ohio State’s momentum would carry over into the second half, immediately testing the Maryland back line and keeper with a number of chances including a Wolcott save on a deflected free kick. 

Unfortunately for Wolcott, his first half error would not be his only one of the game. 

In the 58th minute, the ball came bouncing back to the keeper outside his box, Wolcott coming up to try and clear it downfield. However, the keeper misjudged the ball, leading to a free goal for Michael Adedokun, Ohio State taking a 2-1 lead.

Wolcott did not back down after this mistake though, making multiple game-changing saves to keep his team in the game on what should have been Ohio State goals. 

Unfortunately, Wolcott’s heroics would not be enough, as Ohio State put the game away not much later with back to back goals in just 90 seconds. 

Just like that, Maryland found itself getting blown out for the first time of the season in the last game of the season, down 4-1. 

The Terps were outshot 17 to five in the loss, most of Ohio State’s shots coming in the second half.