Following a crushing 2-1 loss to Wisconsin on Friday night, the Maryland men’s soccer team went straight to the locker room, rather than remaining on the field for a routine postgame talk.

The Terps had a 1-0 lead for 82 minutes in their Big Ten home opener, but they were unable to build on a 7th-minute goal from forward Paul Bin. Maryland’s inability to create a comfortable lead opened the door for the first heartbreak of the season, after a 2017 campaign that was full of them.

The Terps were 53 seconds away from their second Big Ten win this season when Wisconsin equalized. After forcing overtime, the Badgers capitalized on their breakthrough to stun Terps with a golden goal in the 107th minute.

It was Maryland’s third loss of the season, but the most painful defeat yet of the 2018 campaign.

“We’ve lost two games prior to this and you didn’t have this empty feeling from those losses,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “This one’s going to hurt.”

[Read more: Maryland men’s soccer allows late equalizer and loses to Wisconsin, 2-1]

Maryland’s previous defeats were understandable results. The Terps couldn’t go on the road and beat No. 16 Washington in the season opener, and despite failing to score in its fourth consecutive game to start the season, there was “no shame” in a 1-0 loss to a perennial national title contender No. 23 UCLA.

So Friday night’s loss stung in way the previous two hadn’t.

[Read more: Eli Crognale waited for his chance with Maryland soccer. Now he’s making the most of it.]

Maryland had appeared to be approaching a mid-season groove following two straight wins that got its record to .500. Bin’s first career goal marked the team’s first time scoring before halftime this season, and after being shut out in their first four games, it was the Terps’ third game in a row with a goal.

Maryland was coming off an overtime road win against Northwestern in a game that mirrored the loss to Wisconsin the following weekend. The Terps erased a one-goal deficit late in the second half and won in overtime in a game Cirovski believed helped his team mature.

After the victory, midfielder Amar Sejdic knew how crucial picking up wins were throughout his team’s Big Ten slate.

“Three points is important in conference play,” Sejdic said. “Every single point and every single goal you can get counts when it comes toward the end of the season.”

That sentiment didn’t resonate positively with the Terps on Friday.

Maryland squandered the opportunity to begin Big Ten play with two wins, unable to handle the same second-half pressure it applied in its previous match. Maryland had a 12-7 advantage in overall shots but put two fewer on goal than the Badgers.

“What you have to do in those situations is put the balls in the back of the other team’s net,” Cirovski said. “We certainly had space. We had opportunities … the execution in the final third was left wanting again.”

The collapse was eerily similar to how Wisconsin eliminated Maryland from last year’s Big Ten tournament quarterfinals at Ludwig Field. The Terps went up 1-0 in the first half before the the Badgers scored the equalizer in the 51st minute and put up the game winner with three minutes left.

Maryland fell victim to the same second-half pitfalls Friday night and watched a lead slip from its grasp for the first time this season with less than seconds left in regulation. Then, they witnessed Wisconsin celebrate on their own field for the second time in under a year.

“This is going to hurt,” Cirovski said. “We hope to make it a good hurt so we can respond in a positive way.”