mike frantel—THE DIAMONDBACK Senior forward Jason Garey has been shut out in the NCAA tournament thus far, but was confident that he would get his chances against Akron.

Earlier this week Terrapin men’s soccer assistant coach Rob Vartughian called Mike Mastrantuono, president of The Crew, and told him the student fans better come out in full force because Akron is “bringing buses and buses of people” to Ludwig Field for tomorrow’s NCAA quarterfinal game.

“I had a little bit of shock and surprise because his initial estimate was 500 people,” Mastrantuono said. “I thought to myself ‘No way, there’s no way they’re bringing that many people from Ohio.'”

Worse, he was told Akron fans will arrive early, and that they even might plot on The Crew’s territory behind each goal.

“I’m a little worried. Not necessarily threatened,” Mastrantuono said.

To combat the Zips’ plans, the Terrapin marketing office distributed flyers around campus and took out an advertisement in this newspaper urging students not only to attend the game, but to arrive especially early. Terp coach Sasho Cirovksi was able to get the athletic department to allot free tickets to the first 500 students.

But the bigger battle will be waged on the field, as the Zips – the nation’s top statistical team – do pose a legitimate threat to the No. 1-seeded and ranked Terps.

Led by senior forward Ross McKenzie, No. 9-seeded Akron (18-1-3) leads the nation in goals scored per game (3.05) and goals allowed (0.48). The Zips also previously carried the No. 1 ranking for four consecutive weeks and are gunning for their first trip to the College Cup since 1986.

“I expected them to have a great year, and be a team that was going to make a deep run in the tournament,” said Cirovski when asked about the Terps’ 2-0 preseason loss to the Zips Aug. 21 in Akron.

However, Jason Garey, Chris Lancos and Robbie Rogers did not play in that game. And since then, the Zips have feasted on Mid-American Conference foes while the Terps have clashed with top-flight ACC teams.

“We know they’re a good team,” Garey said. “They haven’t played the competition we’ve played, but it doesn’t matter. They’ve gotten the results.”

The Zips’ only loss came at the hands of defending national champion Indiana Nov. 3 in Bloomington, Ind., five days after the Terps tied the Hoosiers. The Terps (17-4-1) supplanted Akron as No. 1 in the next poll and remain one spot ahead today.

Garey – who leads the Terps with 20 goals for the season – has been uncharacteristically shut out from the scoring column in the first two tournament games. Though Brown and St. John’s made such a concerted effort not to let the star forward score, Garey said he’s staying as active as ever on the offensive end.

“We were just watching it on tape, and when I make my runs to the near post, there are three guys that come with me,” Garey said. “I’m going to try to take them as far away from the other guys as possible.”

In his next breath, Garey flashed his ever-present confidence.

“But I’m still going to get my chances,” he said. “They can’t keep that many people on me all the time.”

As long as Akron’s extra fans keep their game confined to the stands.

Contact reporter Daniel Chiat at chiatdbk@gmail.com.