When Maryland wrestling 174-pounder Josh Ugalde stepped onto the mat Saturday against Wisconsin, he clearly wasn’t 100 percent healthy.

Like many of his teammates, Ugalde has struggled in his individual matches. Entering last weekend’s contest, he was only 2-8 this season, with zero dual wins.

With his left shoulder heavily wrapped, Ugalde overcame his injuries against the Badgers and not only won his first dual match of the season, but did so in dominant fashion.

“I put in a lot of work, and I train hard,” Ugalde said. “It feels good.”

[Read more: Against Wisconsin, Brandon Cray gave Maryland wrestling its first lead of the season]

Ugalde injured his hamstring late in his match against Purdue in early January, and it sidelined him for two weeks. He returned last week against Michigan State, but he injured his shoulder as he was being turned onto his back.

While Ugalde was limited in practice all week, that didn’t stop him from scouting Wisconsin’s Pat Spray. McCoy praised Ugalde’s preparation and even noticed a change in his demeanor on the mat.

“He was confident today,” McCoy said. “He knew a little about his opponent and felt good that he could go out there and do X, Y and Z. It’s nice to be on the other end of those things.”

Ugalde wasted no time in the opening moments of his match, throwing Spray to his back in the first 30 seconds for an early 6-0 lead. He became even more dominant as the match wore on.

Spray was overpowered early and often, as Ugalde managed to take him down several more times in the first period alone. After one frame, Ugalde had built a whopping 12-3 lead.

[Read more: A new mindset got Michael Doetsch his first dual win for Maryland wrestling]

In the second period, Ugalde picked up right where he left off, taking just 20 seconds to put Spray on his back again. This time, there was no letting up as Ugalde squeezed Spray until the Badger finally gave in.

The referee slammed his hand to the mat, officially ending the bout and signaling a pinfall victory for Maryland. Ugalde leapt to his feet, raised his arms and flexed after overcoming the pain and struggles that have hindered him all season.

His aggressive mindset finally paid off, and his resilience helped his team as a whole.

“I go into every match with the same attitude,” Ugalde said. “Hoping to win, hoping to dominate, hoping to be the best that I can. And today, I happened to get some bonus points for the team.”

Those bonus points cut the Wisconsin lead to 20-9 with three matches left. But Maryland failed to capitalize and ultimately fell, 30-9.

With three regular-season dual wins a year ago, Ugalde was supposed to be a strong contributor in his redshirt junior season. While injuries have hampered those expectations, Saturday’s win is a promising sign for his upcoming contests.

“He wrestled the way we know he’s capable of wrestling,” coach Kerry McCoy said. “It was nice for him to get that and break through.”

With the Terps in the midst of their brutal Big Ten schedule, they will look to Ugalde to continue his confident and aggressive ways. And they’ll need it, with matches against powerhouse programs like Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan looming.

When asked about how he’s feeling after wrestling while nursing injuries, Ugalde thought about it for a few seconds. Then he gave a wry smile.

“I’m feeling good,” he said.