After surprising September absences, two separate pains have emerged quite clearly for the Terrapin men’s soccer team this month.
For a team in desperate need of a win tonight against Loyola Chicago, both the growing pains of a young team still acclimating to college soccer and the physical pains of a battered team missing two starters have become sorely obvious.
In their recent slide, the No. 2 Terps have been without injured forward Casey Townsend (ankle) and midfielder Doug Rodkey (foot). Not only did their ailments rob the Terps of two vital playmakers in their two recent losses, but they also pushed unexpected responsibilities onto bench players and added pressure to a young defense.
“Not having the quality of Casey and Dougie is huge,” coach Sasho Cirovski said. “That always takes you a little bit out of rhythm, and we’ve been trying to find our rhythm without them.”
When the Terps (5-3-1) weren’t hurting, things were good.
They defeated two top-10 teams thanks to September victories over No. 5 North Carolina and No. 7 California. After an undefeated September in league play, they’re only two points behind the first-place Tar Heels in the conference standings.
Now, with the insertion of midfielder Paul Torres into the lineup, the Terps will be among few other top-25 teams to boast a squad composed of seven starting freshmen or sophomores when the newest NSCAA/adidas poll is released today.
The injuries that precipitated Cirovski’s reshuffled lineup have stifled that apparent progress.
Townsend was tied with forward Jason Herrick as the team’s leading scorer when he went down more than two weeks ago against N.C. State. Rodkey, who suffered a broken metatarsal against North Carolina, was the team’s returning assist leader and was as much of a cornerstone of the team’s defensive and offensive strategy as anyone on the team.
Their newfound spots on the Terp bench have meant more playing time for players like Torres, a freshman about whom Cirovski has raved recently, but not more goals. The Terps did not score in last week’s losses to George Mason and Duke, and netted just two total in the two games prior.
“We’ve just become stagnant,” midfielder Drew Yates said. “I don’t know if it’s because we’re tired or it’s because guys don’t want the ball. I don’t know what it is.”
The defense, which had seemed all but ready to discard its “inexperienced” label after weeks of stalwart work on the back line, has faltered recently in untimely spots.
Against George Mason, Patriot forward Draymond Washington lost his marker inside the box and found the ball for the game’s decisive score. Friday, Duke forward Ryan Finley punished freshman Ethan White on a failed clearance for the game’s first goal. For the rest of the way, the Terps played catch-up with no success.
“I really feel that this is part of the growing process,” Cirovski said. “I think it’s one of these necessary evils, unfortunately, with a young team.”
Loyola (3-2-3) more closely resembles the upset-minded George Mason team than it does the earlier midweek lightweights the Terps easily dispatched. The Ramblers, picked to finish second in the Horizon League, return five of their six top scorers from last season’s NCAA Tournament squad, including conference tournament MVP Mark Halma and all-league performer Eric Gehrig.
“They’ve got some big-time individual players, but the strength of their team is their team really,” Cirovski said. “We’re going to need to play a full 90 minutes to be successful.”
If they’re not successful, the pain might become unbearable for a team that, before Friday, had last dropped two straight games more than two years ago.
“Losing two in a row is a big deal here, because it doesn’t happen very often,” Yates said. “I don’t really care who scores or who’s getting the points; I just want to win.”
shaffer@umdbk.com
