UCLA’s Andre Ochoa touched a loose ball inside the Maryland men’s soccer’s box in the second half of a tied game on Monday.

Terps’ goalie Laurin Mack rushed off his line to close down the space between him and Ochoa. That gave Bruins’ forward Jose Contell a wide-open net to shoot at. Ochoa sent a pass across the box to Contell. Maryland defender Jace Clark made the vital block.

Clark’s block on the Contell shot prevented No. 19 UCLA from taking the lead. The Terps held on for a draw against the Bruins, 1-1, at Ludwig Field.

“Jace is known for those kind of tackles, especially on the defensive side,” Mack said. “I think it shows how we defend, and that’s what brought us here.”

Maryland (8-1-5, 5-0-2 Big Ten) missed a big chance to be the lone team atop the Big Ten standings. Instead, the Terps’ point earned puts them in a tie with Indiana.

Maryland’s attack, which scored in 11 straight matches entering Monday, almost found the breakthrough in the fifth minute.

Leon Koehl played a cross-field ball to fellow midfielder Albi Ndrenika in the attacking third. Koehl darted toward the box after playing the ball, and Ndrenika found him on a through ball. Koehl took a touch, but fired his shot into the side netting.

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Defender Bjarne Thiesen had a chance minutes later.

Ndrenika whipped an inswinging ball into the box off a short corner. Thiesen had a free header in the center of the box, but lifted his effort too high over the crossbar.

The Terps registered three shots in the first 20 minutes, but each missed the target.

That changed in the 25th minute.

Ndrenika lofted a ball down the right sideline. Forward Sadam Masereka controlled it and raced into the box, leaving the UCLA (6-3-5, 3-2-3 Big Ten) defender behind him.

He slowed down while Bruins goalkeeper Wyatt Nelson stayed on his line. Masereka slotted a shot through Nelson’s legs to give Maryland the lead, 1-0. It was the junior’s third goal in the last four outings.

“[Masereka] rightfully earned some great goals for us, so he’s been terrific,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “He struggled a little bit with some of his execution in the first part of the year, but now it’s coming together.”

UCLA fared better at placing shots on goal in the first half, but Mack kept the Bruins scoreless.

Midfielder Edrey Caceres and forward Jacob Diaz hit the target with shots, but Mack touched both away.

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The Terps goalkeeper couldn’t continue that into the second half.

Philip Naef laid a one-touch pass inside the box to Tamir Ratoviz. The Bruins’ midfielder settled down the pass and lashed a shot under Mack’s hand, leveling the score at one apiece.

The Terps have allowed a score in all but two conference games this year.

Max Rogers swung in two corner kicks immediately after Maryland gave up the game-tying goal, but no Terps player could redirect a header on goal.

UCLA’s best opportunity to take its first lead of the match fell to the feet of Contell, but Clark got his body in the way of the effort to make the crucial block.

Defender Nicholas Cavallo turned an attempt on Mack’s net later in the half. His shot was on target, but Mack caught the effort. He finished with four saves.

“He’s just one special kid. He’s a hell of a goalkeeper, he’s helping us a lot,” Alex Nitzl said. “UCLA is a good team. The longer the game went on, the more they settled in, the more comfortable they got … they were throwing a lot at us.”

Maryland drops points in conference play for the first time since Oct. 1, a stretch spanning over three Big Ten matches. It goes into its final three games in a congested top half of the table, where the top five teams are separated by five points.