Senior Rob Fitzgerald squares off against his 197-pound opponent during Maryland’s 17-16 loss against George Mason University at the Xfinity Center on Nov. 9, 2014.

A number of times this season, Terrapins 197-pound wrestler Rob Fitzgerald has nearly pulled off significant upsets against top-flight competition.

There was his three-point loss to No. 7 Conner Hartmann of Duke at the Grapple at the Garden on Dec. 21. Then came a 6-3 defeat at the hands of No. 11 Elliot Riddick of Lehigh on Jan. 11. And most recently, he almost pinned Ohio State’s Kyle Snyder, the third-ranked wrestler in the weight class, before losing 19-9 on Jan. 25.

But Friday night against Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena, Fitzgerald upended No. 16 Alex Polizzi with a pin just more than a minute into the bout to secure what previously had narrowly eluded him. Despite the Terps’ 26-18 loss to the Wildcats, the Downingtown, Pennsylvania, native broke his streak of tight losses and will bring a defining conference win into the postseason.

“I really needed this one,” Fitzgerald said. “It wasn’t even the pin, per se, because anyone can get caught. It was just the mindset.”

Fitzgerald cited his “great week of practice” as a reason for his success. In the days leading up to the match, he worked with assistant coach Rob Eiter, who showed the 197-pound starter various hand-fighting techniques.

By the end of the week, Fitzgerald felt confident with these methods entering his final regular-season match.

“He’s [16th] in the nation, and I felt like I was moving him around how I wanted to move him,” said Fitzgerald, who earned his second Big Ten win. “It was a major confidence booster for me moving forward.”

While Fitzgerald had great success in his bout with Northwestern, many of his teammates struggled with their opponents. Aside from the 174-pound bout, which the Terps won via forfeit, Fitzgerald and 157-pound Lou Mascola were the lone Terps wrestlers to pick up victories.

Mascola — who’s improved his record to 14-11 after starting the season with two wins in his first eight bouts — pieced together an efficient and dominant performance against Benjamin Sullivan.

Out of the gate, Mascola executed a takedown and a three-point near fall, giving him the early five-point advantage. Once he wedged himself into a favorable position, the East Hanover, New Jersey, native secured a first-period fall to end the contest.

“I wasn’t really thinking about end results in that match or in any match lately,” Mascola said. “But once I started piling on the points … then my focus shifted to, ‘How can I maximize the amount of team points I get for my team?’”

Though Mascola’s pin gave the team six points, it came after the Terps surrendered the first 14 points of the dual.

The meet started with 125-pound Josh Polacek, who battled back into his match during the third period but came up short in a one-point loss.

The struggles at the lighter weights continued when No. 20 Geoffrey Alexander dropped his bout to Dominick Malone after beating Malone by major decision at the Midlands Championships on Dec. 29. After starting the season 12-3, Alexander has one win in his past six bouts.

“It was definitely a winnable match,” Fitzgerald said. “We got outperformed by some kids who weren’t as good as us, and it was frustrating to watch.”

With the loss, coach Kerry McCoy’s squad finished their first season in the Big Ten without a conference win. Still, the Terps will compete on an individual basis when they head to Columbus, Ohio, for the Big Ten Championships on March 7-8.

Fitzgerald will compete in a brutally tough 197-pound bracket, which will feature nine ranked wrestlers, six of whom reside in the top 10.

So while he faces an uphill battle in a few weeks, Fitzgerald said Friday night’s win gives him the confidence of knowing he can win matches against premier competition.

“He finished out his dual-meet career with a win, and now he has some momentum going into the Big Tens,” McCoy said. “But he still has to continue to work on the things that he’s been working all year and keep the positive attitude to keep moving forward.”