No. 1 Maryland men’s soccer hadn’t trailed at Ludwig Field for a second this year. That stat abruptly changed in the 74th minute of the Big Ten semifinals against UCLA.

Freshman midfielder Ander Martincorena — who’d appeared in just three games this season — scored his first career goal, a strike that brought Maryland’s full crowd to a hush. 10 minutes later, Sergi Solans Ormo doubled the Bruins lead

When the Terps and Bruins faced off in the opening round of last year’s conference tournament, Maryland was humiliated in a 6-0 loss that day, suffering its worst defeat in over 40 years.

Wednesday night’s 2-0 loss wasn’t nearly as embarrassing, but it was arguably just as shocking — ending Maryland’s undefeated run at a place where it had been nearly perfect this season.

[4 stats that capture No. 1 Maryland men’s soccer dominant year]

“You never want to have a defeat, especially not on a night like tonight, where this was the best environment for a midweek game in my 33 years,” coach Sasho Cirovski said.

Cirovski commended his team’s effort after Maryland and UCLA drew 0-0 against the Bruins during the regular season. He noted that the Bruins were “desperate” after starting the season with just two wins from their first nine matches.

He reiterated that point following Wednesday’s defeat.

“It pisses me off that they play that well against us and not against other teams,” Cirovski chuckled. “If they would’ve done their job at the beginning of the year, they probably would be a top-10 team, and not worried about the NCAA tournament.”

The six-win Bruins have essentially been playing for their postseason lives since late September, but Maryland hasn’t shared that worry this season. Wednesday’s second half was a culmination of their dueling fortunes this year.

Maryland became desperate after Martincorena fried the Bruins into a late 1-0 lead. By most measures, the Terps had been the better attacking team until then.

Maryland held 60 percent of possession in the opening half, doing so predominantly on UCLA’s side of the field. The Terps’ five shot advantage at the break reflected such, but just one of their seven looks were on target.

Bruins defenders crowded the 18-yard box, making it difficult for wingers Stephane Njike and Sadam Masereka to cut inside. It also limited the space available for them to play crosses.

Midfielders Leon Koehl and Chris Steinleitner took a couple speculative efforts from outside the box as the half winded down — but had their efforts blocked before reaching the penalty area.

Ten minutes into the second half, Njike forced a diving save from UCLA goalkeeper Kevin Box. Left back Luca Costabile nearly finished off a one-two just a minute later. Adding to that frustration, UCLA’s midfielders resorted to tactical fouls nearly every time Maryland had a potential counterattack.

[No. 1 Maryland men’s soccer clinches Big Ten title with 4-3 win over Michigan State]

By the 70th minute, Maryland outshot the Bruins 14-6, adding an element of shock to Martincorena’s goal. Solans Ormo’s lead-doubling score was born out of the Terps’ need for an equalizer.

“At the end of the game, we were probably committing a few too many numbers [forward], and they caught us on a counter,” Cirovski said.

Wednesday night’s loss had a similar flavor to an infamous defeat from nearly a decade ago.

In 2016, an undefeated Maryland entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 team in the country. The Terps took a 4-1 lead in their opening match, which became their last game after conceding four unanswered goals in a 5-4 loss.

As startling as Wednesday was, this year’s squad still has a shot at the national championship — an opportunity that Maryland’s last undefeated regular season team never had.

Cirovski highlighted that positive after the game.

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

Five consecutive shutouts later, that 2018 team was crowned national champions.