Maryland men’s soccer defeats Ohio State, 2-0

No. 1 Maryland men’s soccer defeated Ohio State 2-0 at Ludwig Field, extending the Terps’ unbeaten streak to 11 games.

The Buckeyes were the last team to beat the No. 1-ranked Terps (9-0-2, 5-0-1) in the regular season, doing so last Halloween. The Terps faced none of the troubles that hampered them in that 1-0 loss.

Instead, Maryland had its second straight victory over the Buckeyes, the other being the Big Ten Championship win over Ohio State last season. A quick start from Maryland put the game out of reach early, as Gordon Wild and Sebastian Elney found the back of the net early in the first half.

In the eighth minute, Eryk Williamson’s low cross rattled around the box before falling to Amar Sejdic, who fired just wide left for Maryland. A minute later, Jake Rozhansky nearly beat Ohio State’s redshirt freshman goalkeeper Parker Siegfried on a run. Ohio State couldn’t clear after a free kick from about 30 yards, and Rozhansky’s dangerous run through the box deflected off of Siegfried before it could be cleared.

The constant barrage on Ohio State’s defensive zone led to a Terps goal in the 12th minute as Gordon Wild slotted home his tenth goal of the season. The Cologne, Germany native found ample room down the right wing after a through ball from Sebastian Elney. Wild cut in and beat Siegfried for an early Terps lead.

Seven minutes later, Elney made no mistake with a loose ball at Ohio State's 18-yard box as he fired home to push Maryland’s lead to two goals.

Nate Kohl would put pressure on Maryland late in the first half. The striker nearly made the Terps pay by intercepting a light back pass to Cody Niedermeier, which Kohl poked out for a goal kick. Then, with 10 minutes left in the first half, his header found Niedermeier in no-mans land, but landed safely on top of Maryland’s goal.

Kohl’s shots were the only two for Ohio State in the first half, as the Terps outshot the Buckeyes 11-2 in the first half and 16-9 by the final whistle.

Ohio State came out with better pressure to start the second half. In the 61st minute, a Buckeye cross rattled off of Maryland’s post before being cleared away, and another passed by everyone, including a diving Niedermeier, on its way out for a goal kick.

Wild had a chance to put the game away for the Terps in the 65th minute, but one too many touches let Ohio State clear its line.

Niedermeier would preserve the clean sheet for the Terps in the 72nd minute with a diving save to his right to parry a strong shot from 20 yards out by Kohl. It would be Niedermeier’s biggest involvement on an otherwise quiet night save two off target Kohl chances in the first half. He was only forced to make one save in the first half, and two total on Friday night.

Kohl nearly found his fourth goal of the season again in the 83rd minute. A cross was just out of Niedermeier's reach and glanced wide off of Kohl's head behind for a goal kick.

Ohio State (3-9, 2-3) is far from its championship-run form of the year prior, but it was still a reassuring sight for fans to see Maryland hold its fourth straight clean sheet and maintain steady possession. The Terps’ deliberate passing in the final third wore down Ohio State’s defense from early on.

The Terps will travel to Morgantown to play West Virginia on Monday at 7 p.m.