No. 10 Maryland drops third match in a row in 2-1 loss versus No. 1 Ohio State

Photo by Allison Mize/Maryland Terrapins

Ohio State senior Michael Adedokun received the ball in the 34th minute and dribbled past defenders Alex Nitzl, Jace Clark, and Chris Steinleitner before slotting a pass to Ashton Bilow in front of the goal. Bilow scored to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 2-0.

No. 10 Maryland men’s soccer (8-4-5, 5-3-2 Big Ten) was defeated, 2-1, by No. 1 Ohio State (11-1-3, 7-1-2 Big Ten) at Ludwig Field in its final regular season match on Sunday. Despite suffering a third loss in a row, the Terps delivered their best performance since losing Leon Koehl to injury against UCLA. 

“The guys executed how we wanted them to play in both halves, and maybe a bit unfortunate, but certainly Ohio State took their chances and they got their goals,” Maryland assistant coach Brian Rowland said. Rowland filled in for Maryland head coach Sasho Cirovski who received a red card in its previous game against Rutgers

Ohio State clinched the one seed in the Big Ten tournament and a share of the conference title with its victory. The Buckeyes stayed afterwards to take pictures on Maryland’s field and celebrate. 

“I think it lights a bit of a fire,” Terps attacker Max Rogers said. “Today was just one of those days where we really felt like we went toe to toe with them. We take a lot of pride in protecting Ludwig and obviously seeing this [celebrations] is not a great sight but definitely something that we’ll remember when we hopefully see them again.”

Center back William Kulvik missed the match after suffering an injury against Rutgers. Clark started alongside Bjarne Thiesen in the middle of the backline while Nitzl returned to right back. 

Matias De Jesus started in place of Koehl. Maryland held their own in the midfield and didn’t look outmatched against the top team in the country despite the Terps being without their best player. 

“I feel like we’ve kind of lost a little bit of who we are as a team,” Rogers said. “You know, we’re a very, very good soccer team. That was the number one team in the country and it didn’t feel like they were heads and shoulders better than us.”

Head coach Sasho Cirovski was also forced to miss the game due to his red card against Rutgers. Assistant Rowland took over as manager in Cirovski’s place. 

Ohio State took the lead off an early set piece in the 14th minute. Adedokun played a long free kick that was redirected back into the middle of the box. Thomas Gilej headed in the second goal of his career. 

The Buckeyes nearly put the match away in the first half but goalie Laurin Mack made key stops to keep it close. He rushed off his line to stop David Wrona from scoring in a one-on-one situation in the 22nd minute. 

But Maryland’s defense struggled to deal with an Ohio State offense that leads the Big Ten in goals. Adedokun showed off his speed in the 33rd minute, dribbling past three defenders in the box before assisting Bilow’s goal to double the Buckeyes’ lead. 

Maryland’s own speedster, Sadam Masereka, was the Terps’ most dangerous offensive player. He made runs at and behind the Ohio State backline but was unable to find the final product. 

Masereka nearly won a penalty in the 26th minute when he got behind his defender and fell following contact and his shirt being grabbed. But the referee ruled that Masereka was already going to ground before the contact occurred. 

Maryland controlled the ball early in the second half as it pushed for a comeback. The Terps got back into the match with Luca Costabile’s first career goal. Ohio State’s goalie Patrick McLaughlin parried a free kick but the ball bounced to Costabile, who buried his shot in the bottom left corner netting. 

But Maryland’s momentum slowed after the goal, and the match settled into a back-and-forth, with neither side able to create many good looks. 

Colin Griffith had the ball in the box in the 78th minute with a chance to equalize, but an Ohio State defender blocked his shot to deny the chance. 

Buckeyes forward Tanner Creech almost put the game away in the 83rd minute with a great look at goal off a long ball, but the junior blew his shot over the goal. Adedokun also had chances to score in the 90th minute on a breakaway but failed to get his shot past Mack. 

Maryland now prepares for the Big Ten tournament where it can turn its fortunes around. The Terps are currently the three seed heading into the competition, which begins on Thursday.