Alex Crognale, a 6-foot-5 senior defender, scored early, and after the Badgers went ahead with goals three minutes apart midway through the second half, Crognale equalized in the 88th.

“We showed some championship fiber,” Terrapins Coach Sasho Cirovski said, “in the same game where we showed a little bit of weakness.”

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The Terrapins (11-0-2, 6-0-1) stretched their winning streak to eight, secured the top seed in the conference tournament and, with four games left, retained their hopes of completing an undefeated regular season for the first time since 1968.

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Their run was almost shattered by the Badgers (7-3-2, 3-2-1), who survived an onslaught in the opening minutes and flipped the match in their advantage after intermission. Goals by Sam Brotherton in the 64th minute and Mark Segbers in the 67th ended a Maryland shutout streak of about 530 minutes.

“We could’ve had another three” goals in the first half, Cirovski said. “When you give a team some hope and they come out in the second half with a little bit of energy, they start to believe. We didn’t have the knockout punch in the first half and they sucker-punched us.”

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Crognale provided the lead in the 12th minute, heading in Amar Sejdic’s free kick from close range. Wisconsin’s Philipp Schilling prevented a deeper deficit with two sterling saves and defender Elan Koenig cleared Jake Rozhansky’s bid off the goal line.

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With Maryland’s defense springing leaks, Wisconsin became increasingly dangerous as the half transpired. The Terrapins were back on the prowl after the break, a goal-line clearance by Wisconsin’s Noah Leibold foiling Williamson’s header.

From there, the Badgers were the better side. Brotherton made a near-post run on Christopher Mueller’s free kick and redirected the ball into the near corner. Just three days earlier, Brotherton, a sophomore defender, played the last 32 minutes in the New Zealand national team’s 1-1 draw with the United States at RFK Stadium.

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Mueller then got behind the Maryland defense and squared the ball to Segbers for a simple finish and a stunning lead. They would have had another, if not for Rozhansky clearing a shot at the right post in the 85th minute.

“There was some anxiety,” Crognale said, “but Sash teaches us to keep a level head and stay composed when we are in tough spots.”

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After referee Sorin Stoica incorrectly awarded Maryland a corner kick, Chris Odoi-Atsem headed Sejdic’s service through the six-yard box to Crognale crashing the back side for a header at the edge of the goal line.

After threats by both teams early in overtime, Williamson won it. Challenging for the ball in the penalty area, the T.C. Williams graduate deftly brought it down and smacked a 12-yard shot past Schilling for his second goal of the year.

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“It was a good feeling, a relief,” the D.C. United homegrown prospect said, “because I’ve had a little gap with my scoring this year.”

Cirovski had pulled Williamson from the match in the second half because of lackluster play.

“I challenged him and he responded,” Cirovski said, “We were challenged as a team and responded.”

The Terrapins’ next three matches are at home against non-conference foes, starting with American on Tuesday.

VIRGINIA 1, NOTRE DAME 0: In Charlottesville, Edward Opoku scored in the seventh minute as the No. 21 Cavaliers (7-2-4, 2-2-2 ACC) upset the second-ranked Fighting Irish (10-2-1, 3-2-1) and extended their unbeaten streak to six.