Two days before facing No. 14 Indiana, Maryland men’s soccer center back Lasse Kelp was asked about his upcoming matchup against forward Palmer Ault — who entered Friday as the nation’s leader in points.

“I’m gonna win it, so I don’t really worry about that,” Kelp said.

His proclamation proved true in Maryland’s 3-2 win over the Hoosiers Friday at Ludwig Field.

Ault’s only major contribution was an 81st-minute goal, which was ultimately inconsequential to the result. Outside of that, No. 4 Maryland’s backline thoroughly frustrated the senior forward — another respectable defensive showing in a season that’s been full of them.

“He’s a proven top college player, and he’s having the best year of his career,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “We did a good job of kind of neutralizing him.”

Limiting Ault’s impact was a near-necessity for Maryland. The senior’s 15 goals — more than double the count of anyone else in the Big Ten — are a flashy complement to his eight assists.

[No. 4 Maryland men’s soccer earns marquee win over No. 14 Indiana, 3-2]

The Hoosiers had played seven conference games before this weekend’s trip to College Park, winning four. Ault totaled five goals and six assists across Indiana’s Big Ten victories but was held without a goal contribution in all three defeats.

His late goal Friday ultimately broke that trend, but the senior struggled before that point.

Kelp and fellow defender Tristen Rose completely stymied the star forward in the first half. Maryland’s center back tandem limited Ault to a pair of shots — one was an off-target header, while the other was a scuffed bicycle kick.

His lack of early production developed into frustration, eventually earning him a yellow card around the hour mark.

With Maryland leading 2-0, Kelp won his team a throw-in by dispossessing Ault along the near sideline. Kelp yelled in Ault’s face before Maryland captain Luca Costabile temporarily cooled tensions by stepping between the two.

Costabile lofted the ensuing throw-in to the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Kelp. Ault — at 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds — intentionally shoulder-checked Kelp, sparking a brief scuffle.

[5 numbers that could define Maryland men’s basketball’s season]

“It’s Maryland [and] Indiana on a Friday night in front of almost 6,000 people. There’s going to be heated moments,” Cirovski said. “One of the messages was that we have to stay composed and we have to be disciplined … our guys kept their composure very well.”

That incident was Ault’s most notable stamp on the game until a little more than 20 minutes later when he found a pocket of space and scored from a cross.

“That’s one of the few times that we actually lost him in the box,” Cirovski said.

Intelligent positioning has aided Ault’s prolific goalscoring. The senior typically gets his best offensive opportunities by lingering behind the defense. It’s a strategy that allows him to drift into the box unmarked.

Ault’s only other second-half shot came in that same fashion.

With Maryland leading 2-1, the Hoosiers drove an attack down the left flank, taking the ball all the way to the endline in the process. Maryland’s defenders were naturally drawn toward the ball, leaving Ault with an abundance of space near the edge of the 18-yard box.

Midfielder Jacopo Fedrizzi found Ault with a cutback pass. But as the forward took his one-touch shot, Kelp slid in front of the strike, blocking a potential game-tying score.

Contributions like those have seen Maryland limit opponents to nine goals, its best defensive stretch through the opening 13 games since 2021.

Indiana’s two second-half scores were indicative of Maryland’s occasional defensive lapses. But by holding the highest-scoring team in the Big Ten to those two goals — while keeping Ault in check for 80 minutes — Kelp ultimately met the lofty expectations he had set earlier in the week.