No. 1-seed Maryland men’s soccer had an almost-perfect scenario heading into Wednesday. The Terps came in with an undefeated record as Big Ten regular-season champions and hosted the Big Ten tournament. 

However, the Bruins had other plans.

Ander Marticorena stunned the Terps in the 74th minute, followed by another score ten minutes later to seal Maryland’s first loss of the season, 2-0. 

“We’ve given up a couple of goals in the last few games,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said. “We have a terrific team, but sometimes winning with young college players, you can kind of get a little complacent in certain aspects of the game.”  

Maryland entered as one of the two final unbeaten teams, but the streak was spoiled on Wednesday night. 

For the second time in four years, Maryland earned the top seed in the Big Ten tournament. Since joining the Big Ten in 2014, Maryland has won three championships and fallen three times in the final.

 “In 2018, we lost to Indiana in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament and it really reset us to focus on how important the defensive side of the ball is,” Cirovski said. 

The fast-paced play from both teams was evident early on. Maryland’s offense was the first to attack in the fourth minute when sophomore forward Stephane Njike had a nice look outside the box, but sailed it wide. 

However, the Bruins responded. UCLA forced a corner kick for a header in front of Maryland sophomore goalkeeper Laurin Mack. A couple of long possessions by the Bruins would follow, but Njike would gain possession. He fired a grounder on net, but was swallowed by UCLA goalkeeper Kevin Box. 

The Terps generated more scoring opportunities than the Bruins in the first half. Maryland attempted seven shots on good looks from Chris Steinleitner and Njike. UCLA had just two shots and Mack wasn’t tested.

Opportunities arose again for the Terps in the 55th minute, with two of their best chances to score of the night. Njike’s chance came first on a fast break. He dribbled into the top of the box and delivered a grounder, but the box made the diving save.

Luca Costabile followed with a shot off a give-and-go with senior midfielder Albi Ndrenika, but couldn’t connect. 

Costabile had another point-blank look five minutes later. He elected to cross it over to Njike, but UCLA stole the ball. 

The Terps generated good looks, but they had nothing to show for it. Sophomore defender Jace Clark had the last opportunity to give the Terps the lead. He maneuvered down the right sideline and settled for a deep shot that missed the net. 

Before the Bruins scored in the 74th minute, the Terps trailed for just 48 seconds all season. Playing from behind for the first time all season didn’t help Maryland’s comeback chances.

Ten minutes later, Solans Ormo received a crosser pass from Marticorena, who slipped it past a diving Mack to give UCLA a two-goal lead. 

“I thought today we were a little sloppy in the final third,” Cirovski said. “We are maybe trying to be a little too cute in certain areas and we’ll take a look at that.”

The Terps will wait to see who they face in the NCAA tournament after a disappointing conference tournament exit.