Defending Champion Terps Know They’re Targets Of All Foes

By Krystina Lucido

Sasho Cirovski   (Brian Westerholt/MD Media Relations)

What the national champion Maryland men's soccer team lost last season, the Terps are hoping their younger guys picked up because they are needed to step up and lead the team in 2009.

Maryland lost five starters from last year’s squad, leaving the back line open, young and vulnerable. What was once a level playing field now requires a front line to work twice as hard to keep the ball in opposition territory.

“In ’06, we lost our two starting forwards with Marc Burch and Jason Garey, and we lost our entire back four,” said coach Sasho Cirovski, “but our whole midfield returned. Then we lost Robbie Rogers, so that year we ended up losing seven starters. That year we ended up fighting and scratching and finding a way to become No. 5 seed in the country.

“I feel like this year we have a similar challenge, even though the replacement is a little different. … We’ll probably have to score a few more goals in the end; 1-0 games might have to be 2-1; 2-1 might have to be 3-2. So that’s a risky proposition. Scoring two or three goals is still a little bit challenging because so much of your attack does come from your back line. As we get the backs more comfortable playing, then we’ll get more chances.”

Through intense practices this summer, Cirovski, who has seen 17 seasons with Maryland, feels the back line improved tremendously and, with a little more experience playing for 90-minute intervals, could resemble that old team from four years ago.

The Terps knew they would have some tough early competition with their rivals from the West and although they put zero points up against UCLA in a 2-0 loss, they were able to hang with Cal Berkley for a 2-1 win in overtime.

“We feel that we can compete with anybody, any time, any year, and we’ll be competitive,” Cirovski said. “Now we do recognize the significant losses from last year’s squad and we know that it’s going to be lots of growing pains and we’ll have some early weaknesses exposed. That was the purpose of a schedule like this every year. …Obviously, we want to have good results at the beginning of the year, but it’s a little more forgiving at the beginning of the year if you don’t get the results that you want.”

Redshirt junior Jason Herrick will be one of the Terps’ leaders on offense this year.  (Peyton Williams/MD Media Relations)

Despite graduating experience, Cirovski can still call on some talented players to step up and mimic the leadership their veterans exhibited last season. Sophomore goalie Zac MacMath and redshirt junior forward Jason Herrick are two of them.

Herrick recorded four goals and four assists in 24 appearances in 2008. He has been the second half of a goal-scoring tandem with Casey Townsend, a powerful striker who racked up 11 goals and four assists last season, earning All-ACC freshman honors.
Townsend had a fine freshman campaign but knowing there are things he can work on, he relies on Herrick for help and leadership.

“[Herrick’s] one of the leaders on the team. He usually tells me where to go and then I usually do all the running, so he’s my voice up there with me,” the Traverse City, Mich., native said.

MacMath will be the voice of the back line this season. He had a stellar freshman campaign, leading the nation in goals against average (0.44) and tying a Maryland record with 12 shutouts across 19 consecutive wins.

“He’s just a young guy and he’s got a lot of energy and hunger for the game,” Herrick said. “He just likes to play all the time. He’s just a great goalie but even when we do silly little games and other stuff, he does really well in that.

“Zac was with us last year so we’re going to expect him to be more vocal and help organize and be part of the team leadership.”

One positive side to the Terps’ defense is depth at the goal position. Backup Will Swaim started in six games last season, walking away with four wins, three of them shutouts.

The real weakness for the defending national champs is the back line. Returning redshirt senior Kevin Tangney will be one important piece to the defense, as well as Alex Lee, who as a former basketball point guard can use transferable defending skills to block some loaded offenses. The biggest question mark is whether the back line and midfield can learn to work well together.

“In the midfield we just have a larger role for guys like Drew Yates and Doug Rodkey,” Cirovski said. “Matt Kassel played a lot last year and we’ll expect him to take on a larger leadership role and more of the spirit of the team, so to speak. And then Kaoru Forbess, who missed most of last year, is slowly getting his rhythm back. He’s got his fitness back, feels good; his timing is just getting there but he’s a very good player.

“Casey Townsend and Jason Herrick are ahead of where they were last year so I feel like we are ahead of where we were last year in goal and in striker position but the connectivity between the back line and the midfield still has a ways to go.”

Despite the extra work to make sure those ties are strong, many players concede that melding a team’s strengths and weaknesses is a challenge they face at the start of every season. 

“It’s pretty much the same challenge every year because you have so many new guys every year,” Herrick said. “Even the returning guys, some haven’t played because of injuries and stuff, so just getting used to playing with each other and team chemistry and just working on that.

“It’s a new team and we’re not really comparing ourselves to last year or teams past. We’re going to try to make our own identity.”

The bull's-eye on the back of the team following last year’s championship win doesn’t carry with it any added pressure, according to players and Cirovski.

“It’s exactly what I want,” the coach said. “You work all these years to become a significant program that people want to measure themselves against so I would never trade winning a national championship for the challenge of having a bull's-eye on your back. It’s a challenge I’m looking forward to. It’s a privilege to earn that bull's-eye and it’s a challenge to deal with it.”

Issue 141: September 2009