It took midfielder Mike Heitzmann less than a minute after he was subbed in to become Maryland men’s soccer’s fourth goal scorer against Ohio State on Friday.

Coach Sasho Cirovski putting the seldom-used Heitzmann into the game signalled a dominant performance for the Terps in a season that’s been largely bereft of them.

And upon his entrance, Heitzmann put the finishing touches on an offensive explosion. The junior combined with forward Justin Gielen on a give-and-go and, after receiving the returning pass in the box, slotted a shot into the side netting.

After feeling they weren’t showing their offensive potential nearly all season, the Terps finally saw the ball go in the back of the net in bunches in a 5-0 victory over a one-win Ohio State team.

“We’ve played pretty good soccer all year long,” Cirovski said. “What’s happening in the last couple of games is we’re starting to become more threatening.”

[Read more: Maryland men’s soccer runs rampant in 5-0 win over Ohio State on Senior Night]

The Buckeyes’ only victory of the year was in August, so a Maryland win was hardly surprising. What was hard to see coming, though, was the season-high five goals on 21 shots in a game the team’s two leading scorers, Paul Bin and William James Herve, were inactive for.

The Terps entered the contest with only 11 goals in 13 games but had nearly half of that in 90 minutes against the Buckeyes. Suddenly, Maryland’s inconsistent offense is tied for the most goals in conference play with two games remaining until the Big Ten tournament.

“The way we played, everything just flowed so well,” midfielder Amar Sejdic said. “We always knew we were capable of it, but we just needed something mentally to click just so we could feel that freedom on the field and share the ball.”

[Read more: Chase Gasper makes Maryland soccer better, and he’s healthy for the team’s stretch run]

Nobody distributed better than senior defender Chase Gasper, whose three assists tied the single-game program record. He now has four assists in his three games since returning from a month-long back injury, giving the Terps an extra offensive spark.

Gasper was subbed out for the remaining 22 minutes after his final assist — the first time he’s left the field since his return. Cirovski didn’t expect him to withstand 90 minutes immediately after his return, but he did so in each of his first two performances back and has now contributed to consecutive wins.

“We’ve missed him. He’s getting stronger and fitter with every game,” Cirovski said. “You can tell he’s such a powerful weapon both in services and with his runs. He wears teams down. It’s no coincidence that we’ve become better attacking in the last few games.”

Two goals from Sejdic and one from forward Sebastian Elney built Maryland a 3-0 lead, but the team also benefited from a defender scoring a goal for the first time this season.

In the 76th minute, Gasper played a ball into the middle of the box, where 6-foot-5 junior Donovan Pines dove and headed home his first goal of the season. Pines, who remarked earlier in the season about wanting to contribute more in the attacking third, punched his fist into the air before picking Gasper up with a wide smile on his face.

“Donovan’s worked so hard and he’s been so close so many times,” Cirovski said. “When he scored that goal, that was just great. The entire bench erupted, but I think the whole crowd knew it was a special moment.”

The offensive eruption came on the heels of a 1-0 win over No. 7 Denver on Tuesday, giving Maryland hope that it’s turned a corner with a week left in the regular season.

“If you score five goals in a game, it’s huge,” Gasper said. “We’re looking to keep building on this huge win against Denver and a huge win tonight — and now just focus on Penn State and hopefully pull in another big win.”