The ACC men’s soccer teams are so talented this season that even Terrapin coach Sasho Cirovski’s initial reaction looking ahead to ACC play was different than his response to other subjects.

The coach usually has many words about virtually anything he is asked about, but when Cirovski considered the conference outlook his initial response was blunt.

“The ACC is ridiculous this year,” he said.

After the comment, Cirovski paused for a few seconds.

He then got the discussion back to the normal Cirovski pace and backed up his statement with telling stats that prove the conference is the strongest in the country.

Cirovski cited polls in which ACC teams are ranked as four of the top five. Then he pointed out that seven of the nine teams are ranked in the top 10 in some of the polls.

“If you can win in the ACC, then you know you can win a national championship,” Cirovski said.

Somewhere between the rankings and the ACC being a national indicator, Cirovski jumped to the topic of Clemson – the team the No. 1-ranked Terps will play on the road tonight.

The No. 4 Tigers are no exception to the proof Cirovski gave of the extraordinary status of teams in the ACC.

“Their attack is much better than it was last year,” Cirovski said. “They’re a real force, a real national contender.”

The Tigers came into the season fresh off an excellent late-season run in which they made it to the College Cup semifinals.

They return six starters to their squad and recruited forward Frederico Moojen, who was the Premier Development League national player of the year last season.

The road trip to Clemson will be the start of a theme for the Terps’ ACC games this year – top-ranked conference opponents away from home.

The Terps also have to play No. 2 Virginia, No. 5 Wake Forest and No. 7 North Carolina away from College Park this season.

Tonight’s game against Clemson is the first time the Terps will have the chance to compete against an ACC opponent. The last time they played against a conference opponent was in the ACC tournament last season when they lost to Duke in the semifinals.

Cirovski said a win against the Tigers would be the perfect way for the Terps to start the new ACC season.

“Our players know what the ACC games are all about,” Cirovski said. “And [the game] will be a great indicator of where we stand in the ACC right now.”

And his players confirmed the notion that they know exactly what he is talking about.

“It is very, very important to get started on the right foot,” senior midfielder A.J. Godbolt said. “We want to go down there, get a win and start off 1-0 in the ACC.”

Terps at Clemson

Where: Riggs Field

When: Tonight, 7 p.m.

Radio: WMUCsports.com

Contact reporter Bryan Mann at bmanndbk@gmail.com.