CARY, N.C. – After yesterday’s first-round blowout loss in the ACC Tournament, Terrapin men’s soccer coach Sasho Cirovski took his team aside and gave the players a long post-game speech on the adjacent practice field.
The Terps had been one of the hottest teams in the conference entering the tournament, but a 3-0 loss to Virginia Tech had the Terps looking deflated and diffused. The Hokies soundly put down the Terps with an intelligent performance that maximized their opportunities.
The Terps displayed an opposite style.
“We felt like we worked hard but not very smart today,” Cirovski said. “We expended a lot of energy that really had no effect in our attack or defending.”
The Terps could not finish any of their few opportunities, even as they controlled the ball for much of the first half.
After appearing in top form lately, leading to a 10-game unbeaten streak, the Terp offense failed against Virginia Tech. Junior forward Graham Zusi was given a good free kick opportunity that he clanked against the far post. Senior midfielder Stephen King had two shooting opportunities, drilling one directly into Virginia Tech goalkeeper Markus Aigner and kicking one just wide.
Beyond those opportunities, the Terps struggled to produce much offensively and only took five shots in the game.
“It was tough because coming in we had a lot of confidence in our attack,” King said. “Over the last nine or 10 games we’ve done a lot better than when we started out. … Luckily we have time to reflect and get back into it over the next week and a half.”
The Hokies scored their first goal in the 22nd minute off a free kick. For the remainder of the first half, the Terps pressured to no avail.
Coming out of the locker room down just one, the Terps seemed to really struggle to produce. Cirovski switched his lineup to include a more defensive mindset, with senior Spencer Allen and junior Michael Marchiano playing dual defensive midfield. The lack of attackers hurt the Terps and Virginia Tech began to take control of the game. Forward Patrick Nyarko gave Virginia Tech a 2-0 lead, and Cirovski began to make major changes.
Along with switching players to create more attack, including moving sophomore defender Omar Gonzalez to forward, Cirovski made a goalkeeping switch after Nyarko’s goal, siding with freshman Thorne Holder to replace freshman Will Swaim.
“We knew we were chasing the game after two,” Cirovski said. “At that point, it became a territorial game and we just needed to get Thorne in there for his better distribution skills. But neither of them were particularly sharp today.”
The Terps appeared tired and lackluster throughout the game.
Fatigue was definitely a factor, leading Gonzalez to admit his “legs were just dead, and it was just hard for me to keep on running.”
Cirovski took a lot of the blame upon himself. But he believes his team may be better because of the growth it can take from this game.
“It was an atypical Maryland performance, and occasionally you’re going to have that,” Cirovski said. “I think we’re going to file it. That’s what we do with mistakes on the field. The players are going to reflect, the coaches are going to reflect and we’re going to come up with a plan and a preparation for the next time we’re on the field.”
After perhaps their ugliest performance of the season, there’s certainly room for improvement.
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