By Brittney Bridges

The Maryland men’s soccer team took on the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday night for their sixth Big Ten matchup. The Terps traveled to Columbus, Ohio to face the 7-2-1 Buckeyes, who have snagged wins against Northwestern and Penn State. Maryland was coming off an impressive road win against UConn.

Maryland’s key goal had been trying to get on the board early. For the majority of its games, Maryland hadn’t been able to score a goal until the second half. This was mostly due to the execution and finishing by the Terps offensive lineup.

Gordon Wild, while leading the team in goals, still has his off days. Others have stepped up in place of him like Amar Sejdic, who notched his first goal against Northwestern two games ago. Sebastian Elney, Eryk Williamson and Jake Rozhansky also have been key elements in the Maryland offense getting back on track.

In Friday night’s matchup, the game remained a scoreless tie for the majority of the time until the last few minutes. Sebastian Elney finished a goal in the 84th minute off an assist that was credited to both Rozhansky and Sejdic. This was Elney’s fourth goal for the season. The Maryland defense held out until the clock ran down for the next four minutes, giving the Terps their eighth win of the season.

Maryland finished with 23 shot attempts, while Ohio State finished with only nine. Maryland goalie Dayne St. Clair only had to make two saves in the second half, while Ohio State goalie, Parker Siegfried, had to make 11.

Maryland’s record improves to an overall 8-0-3, with a 3-0-2 Big Ten record. Its next game is this upcoming Friday at Wisconsin to take on the Badgers. This will be its last road game for the rest of the regular season.