Jace Clark collapsed to the ground as Chris Steinleitner laid on his back. Colin Griffith walked off the field dejected as time expired.
Two weeks ago, No. 10 Maryland men’s soccer was atop the Big Ten standings, on the verge of completing a season turnaround from last place to first. But back-to-back defeats to opponents near the bottom-half of the conference put the Terps into a skid.
That trend continued Sunday at Ludwig Field.
The Terps concluded their regular season with their third loss in three games to No. 1 Ohio State, 2-1. The Buckeyes’ victory let them hoist the Big Ten trophy on Maryland’s home field.
“I think it lights a bit of a fire,” forward Max Rogers said. “We take a lot of pride in protecting Ludwig, and obviously seeing [Ohio State lift the trophy] is not a great sight, but definitely something that we’ll remember when we hopefully see them again in the playoffs.”
Maryland (8-4-5, 5-3-2 Big Ten) allowed eight goals across 360 minutes in its final four matches of the regular season. It will enter the Big Ten tournament as the No. 3 seed.
The Terps’ defense has been plagued throughout conference play by conceding from set pieces they give to opponents.
[Albi Ndrenika almost had to give up soccer. He’s thriving for Maryland.]
Penn State and Washington each scored directly from a free kick, and Michigan State found the back of the net off a corner kick earlier in the campaign. The worrying trend continued on Sunday.
Midfielder Michael Adedokun played a deep cross into the Terps’ box early in the first half. The ball flew over every Maryland defender to the back post, but not over Siggi Magnusson.
The Ohio State (12-1-3, 7-1-2 Big Ten) defender played a pass back across the face of goal, evading goalkeeper Laurin Mack. Defender Thomas Gilej tapped into an empty net to give the Buckeyes an early lead inside the opening 15 minutes.
The Terps have now conceded from a set piece — a goal from a free kick, corner kick or penalty kick — in seven conference matches this year.
Mack was needed minutes later when midfielder David Wrona beared down on goal. In a one-on-one matchup, Mack got big to deny Wrona from doubling Ohio State’s first-half advantage.
But the Buckeyes’ second score came soon after.
[Maryland men’s soccer’s late-season struggles continue with 3-1 loss to last place Rutgers]
Adedokun dribbled at Alex Nitzl on the left sideline. He touched it all the way to the goal line and seemingly ran out of room. But Adedokun maneuvered past Nitzl and Clark while keeping the ball in play. He fed Ashton Bilow, who touched in another goal in the 34th minute.
“Starting the season we were just way more solid defensively,” defender Luca Costabile said. “I feel like towards the end here, the last three games have been terrible for us. We gotta get back on track here in the Big Ten tournament.”
Maryland’s attack was stagnant in the first 45 minutes. That changed six minutes into the second half on a free kick.
Rogers whipped in a deep ball, forcing Buckeyes’ goalie Patrick McLaughlin to punch the ball up into the air. Costabile controlled the ball with his chest and fired a low shot into the bottom corner to cut the deficit in half with his first score of the season.
Albi Ndrenika and Griffith each had shots to equalize, but Ohio State blocked both attempts.
Maryland closed out its regular season with just three goals in its final four outings. The Terps got off to their fast start in conference play by averaging more than a goal scored a game — they’ll need to replicate their early season scoring output as the postseason begins.
“I think we have to get the guys ready, Thursday’s a quick turnaround,” said assistant coach Brian Rowland, who coached in place of a suspended Sasho Cirovski. “Our group knows that they’re as good as anyone … but obviously we need to establish some confidence and start making some plays and just the details of winning games.”
