The Ohio State Men’s Soccer team comes together before the Ohio State-Michigan game on Oct. 2. Ohio State lost 0-2. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
After falling behind by two goals in the first 60 minutes, Ohio State was unable to complete the comeback in a physical game Friday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, falling to No. 7 Maryland 2-1.
The Buckeyes (3-4-1) defense was tested early as Maryland (8-1-0) recorded three shots on goal in the first 20 minutes — with one shot from sophomore forward Jacen Russell-Rowe hitting off the right crossbar.
Then in the 23rd minute, the Terrapins finally broke through when redshirt freshman midfielder Joshua Bolma found junior forward Hunter George in front of the goal who then chipped the ball past senior goalkeeper Keagan Mcglaulin to take an early 1-0 lead.
Ohio State head coach Brian Maisonneuve said his Buckeyes team — who were dominated in the time of possession battle and were outshot 10-4 in the first half — couldn’t afford a slow start against a talented Terrapins team.
“We are a good team and we need to come out and play like it,” Maisonneuve said. “In the first half I thought we were tentative and scared. We had a couple mistakes early that really put us on our heels.”
After the Buckeyes applied some early offensive pressure to open the second half, Maryland added to their lead in the 57th minute when redshirt freshman Joshua Bolma found the back of the net off a centering pass from sophomore midfielder Ben Bender.
The Buckeyes then cut the lead in half in the 66th minute off a penalty kick goal from sophomore midfielder and team captain Laurence Wooton — his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
Wooton’s goal provided a spark for Ohio State in the second half, as they outshot the Terrapins 8-3 and registered multiple shots on goal.
“I think we brought a whole different aspect of attacking and confidence to the game in the second half, which was good,” junior forward Channing Chasten said. “I wish personally I could’ve put some away, but I think the aggressiveness we brought was so much better.“
The Buckeyes made a valiant last-second push that included a late shot on goal from Chasten and a cross-bar-hitting attempt by redshirt senior midfielder Devyn Etling with just 17 seconds left. However, the late effort from the Buckeyes was not enough to complete the comeback.
Maisonneuve said his team must learn to compete for the full 90 minutes in order to succeed in a challenging Big Ten conference.
“We have to put the 90 minutes together. You can’t go 45 minutes, you can’t go 70 minutes,” Maisonneuve said. “And we have to learn that and learn that fast.”
Ohio State will be back in action Wednesday when they host their third-ranked opponent in four games — No. 17 Bowling Green.
