COLLEGE PARK, MD – The No. 7 Maryland men's soccer team (7-1-0, 2-0-0 Big Ten) used constant pressure and a balanced attack to down Ohio State (3-4-1, 0-1-0 Big Ten), 2-1 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Friday night. 

The Terps played a tremendous first 45 minutes, holding the majority of possession and creating a plethora of opportunities. The Buckeyes grew into the game in the second half and put Maryland under pressure, but the Terps withstood the home side's final attacks and secured the three points. 

In the opening half, Jacen Russell-Rowe gave Maryland their first big chance, capitalizing on an Ohio State mistake, but his shot hit off the crossbar. The Terps continued to hunt for their first goal but opportunities for Ben Bender and Joshua Bolma 

Hunter George found the first goal of his Maryland career in the 24th minute. Bolma was released down the left wing and made a driving run into the box. The redshirt freshman picked out George with a cross, who hit a clinical left footed volley past Keagan McLaughlin in the Ohio State net. 

Ohio State applied the pressure from the start of the second half. Niklas Neumann made a couple of tremendous saves to keep the Terps in front, ending with four stops on the night. 

The Terps took a 2-0 lead in the 58th minute. After a quality build up, the Terps forced a turnover in the Ohio State half. Nick Richardson pounced on an errant pass and passed the ball to Bender at the top of the box. Bender slid the ball to Bolma, who curled the ball past McLaughlin to the far post from close range. 

Ohio State pulled a goal back through a Laurence Wootton penalty kick in the 67th minute. The Buckeyes controlled the majority of play for the remainder of the match, but could not find a tying goal.

Maryland's trio of center backs, Brett St. Martin, Chris Rindov and William Kulvik were solid throughout the contest in front of Neumann, who had his best performance of the season. 


Up Next

• The Terps will head home for a ranked vs ranked matchup on Tuesday against No. 21 Rutgers. The match is scheduled to kickoff at 7 p.m., and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.