No. 20 Maryland men defeat No. 17 Washington 1-0 on Friday

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (Via University of Maryland) – The No. 20 Maryland men’s soccer team rebounded from a tough loss Tuesday with a 1-0 shutout of No. 17 Washington on Friday night at Ludwig Field.

The Terps (7-4-4, 2-1-3 B1G) benefited from an own goal by Washington in the 52nd minute. Maryland’s offense was relentless all night, outshooting the Huskies a massive 24-7 on the night.

While the game remained scoreless throughout the entirety of the first half, the Terps dominated possession of the ball and created nine more scoring opportunities than Washington (6-3-5), which entered the match with 10 shutouts in 13 matches in 2015.

The contest would finally see some scoring action at 51:19, when the Terps landed on the scoreboard by virtue of a Washington own goal. Junior defender Chris Odoi-Atsem sent a magnificent thru-ball to freshman forward Sebastian Elney, whose aggressive run at the goal helped deflect the ball off of a Washington defender into the back of the net.

Maryland showcased their suffocating defense from start to finish, holding Washington to just seven total shots – none of which landed on goal. It was the Terps’ eighth clean sheet of the 2015 campaign and their third in the month of October.

“This was a terrific win tonight. That was the best we’ve looked on the defensive side of the ball all year and we were also very good in attack,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said. “This was a great response from our game on Tuesday. Washington is a top 10 team. I don’t care what their RPI is. Our guys came to play and they showed Washington great respect with a fantastic effort and we earned this victory.”

The Terps will travel to No. 18 Ohio State next Saturday for a pivotal Big Ten contest against the Buckeyes before finishing up the regular season against Rutgers at home on Senior Night the following Wednesday.