Forward Sebastian Elney pointed both of his index fingers into the sky after he skipped a shot past Ohio State goalie Parker Siegfried, putting Maryland men’s soccer ahead early in Friday night’s contest at Ludwig Field.

Defender Chase Gasper, who assisted on Elney’s second goal of the season, walked over to the goal scorer and wrapped his arms around him for a prolonged embrace as several other Terps flocked over to the top of the 18-yard box.

The duo, celebrating their Senior Night, combined to give Maryland a lead in the 20th minute before the floodgates opened in the second half for an eventual 5-0 win. Two goals from senior Amar Sejdic and one each from juniors Donovan Pines and Mike Heitzmann capped off the victory.

Gasper tied a school record with three assists — the first occurrence since Stephen King accomplished the feat in 2007 — to showcase the senior productivity on a night devoted to them.

“I’m delighted with this great performance on this special night celebrating a special group of seniors,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “We were led by seniors throughout, not only by the goals of Amar and Sebastian, but the incredible play of all six tonight that came into the game.”

Ohio State (1-12-2) entered without a win in 54 days — its only victory of the season on Aug. 26 — providing Maryland an opportunity to maintain late-season momentum following a win over No. 7 Denver on Tuesday.

The Terps (6-5-3) were in control from the opening kickoff, taking advantage of a Buckeyes side that’s tied for the fewest goals per game in the country. Maryland registered a season-high 21 shots while holding its opponent without a shot on goal for the second time this year.

After maintaining possession early, Gasper and Elney beat a conservative Ohio State defense to give the Terps their first breakthrough of the night.

Gasper dribbled through the Buckeyes side of the field before relinquishing the ball to Elney, who had his back to the goal outside the box. The forward took a touch onto his left side and fired a shot with his opposite foot, skipping the ball passed the reach of a diving Siegfried.

Elney has scored big goals throughout his four-year Maryland career, his first giving the Terps an overtime win over No. 1 UCLA in 2015 when he earned freshman All-American honors. Although on a smaller stage, Elney’s strike in one of his last games at home opened the scoring to pave the way for a result the Terps couldn’t afford to drop.

It was the first assist of Gasper’s historic night, one that meant more in what could be his second-to-last game at Ludwig Field.

“I’m very proud,” Gasper said. “It’s a great individual accolade but I can’t do it without my incredible team. I mean, these guys, especially tonight, everybody worked their tails off on such a special night like Senior Night.”

In the second half, with Maryland still with just a one-goal lead, the senior production continued.

Gasper linked up with midfielder Matt Di Rosa in the 62nd minute, who slipped a pass to Sejdic at the top of the box. Sejdic took two touches that ended with a rip that Siegfried couldn’t handle. Eight minutes later, Sejdic beat Siegfried near-post with his opposite foot to put the game out of reach.

“Going into the game it was definitely emotional,” Sejdic said. “It’s like the last ride with the boys. It’s a great feeling, without a doubt two goals is special to me, but I think without the team’s performance overall that I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

The upperclassmen success gave Maryland its largest margin of victory of the season, the first time it scored five goals in a game since last season against Wisconsin. Maryland’s seniors combined for three goals and three assists.

As the postseason nears, Sejdic knows the seniors need to lead a team that has a lot of youth.

“For us to start leading at this time of the season is important,” Sejdic said. “We need to keep doing this on a continuous basis.”

With back-to-back wins, the Terps continue to strengthen with only two games remaining before the Big Ten tournament. And with the defense now with seven shutouts this year, offensive consistency can make the Terps lethal heading into the postseason.

“If we can get that kind of quality consistently with the way that we defend as a team,” Cirovski said, “I like where we’re headed.”