Mikey Ambrose

The sequence Friday night played out like so many of the Terrapins men’s soccer team’s goals this year. The bounces, the timing and the execution all fell right into place.

One-third of the way through the first half, forward Sunny Jane’s shot from the right side deflected into the midfield and onto the foot of defender Mikey Ambrose. The freshman took off down the left side, leaving Duke midfielder Riley Wolfe in his wake. Just inside the 18, Ambrose lofted a bending cross off his left foot a split second before Wolfe slid at his feet.

Wolfe could only watch from the ground as midfielder John Stertzer out-leapt three Blue Devils defenders in the center of the box and headed Ambrose’s perfect pass past Duke goalkeeper James Belshaw into the back-left corner of the net.

And while that goal didn’t net the difference — forward Christiano Francois’ tally provided the game-winner in the 42nd minute — it set the tone early for the No. 1 Terps in their 2-1 win over Duke at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C.

“We got dynamic guys,” defender London Woodberry said. “It was just one of those days where we were kind of flying and we got a couple of early chances in the first five minutes, so I feel like that put them on their heels.”

The Terps (11-0-1, 5-0-0 ACC) dispatched the Blue Devils like they have other teams all season: using timely goals from players like Stertzer and suffocating defense at the other end.

Duke (4-6-1, 2-3-1) did manage to make things interesting, though. The Blue Devils mounted a few attacks in the first half, taking five shots, and midfielder Nat Eggleston put a header past goalkeeper Keith Cardona off of a corner kick.

But the Terps never wavered. Their offense put Belshaw under siege for the full 90 minutes, and Stertzer and fellow midfielder Dan Metzger helped quell any offensive opportunities.

“I never felt like we were not in control of the match,” Cirovski said.

The Terps outshot their opponent yet again, owning a 19-8 advantage, but Cirovski expressed some displeasure at the Terps’ ability to finish. Only four of those shots were placed on goal. The Terps were able to get the last they needed to put Duke away, though, when Francois tapped a low cross from defender Jordan Cyrus past Belshaw.

“It’s less frustrating when you know that you keep creating those chances and you see mistakes that are easily correctable,” Cirovski said. “It’s more frustrating if you’re not creating the chances. It’s something we’ve addressed, and I think when you score two goals on the road in an ACC game, you have a chance to win.”

As the schedule has worn on, the Terps have seen their opponents tighten up. In their first seven victories, only one — a 3-2 win Sept. 14 at N.C. State — was by a one-goal margin. In their past four, though, the Terps’ combined margin of victory is four.

But it’s been enough. Three of the Terps’ five ACC victories have come by virtue of shutout. And the way the defense is playing, the offense doesn’t need to worry about putting up four goals like it was earlier this season. The wins are still coming.

“I think we’re in a good place,” Cirovski said. “We want to just keep getting better.”

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