As efficient as the No. 4 Terrapin men’s soccer team has been on offense this season, coach Sasho Cirovski thinks it can be even better.
That’s because forward Jason Herrick, a redshirt sophomore who sat out all of last season because of a torn meniscus, is gradually approaching the form that earned him a spot on the All-ACC freshman team in 2006.
“We’re already better with him in the lineup. He looks like he’s getting 1, 2, 3 percent better every game,” Cirovski said. “It’s only a matter of time before he gets his full groove back.”
Before a head injury sidelined him 12 games into the 2006 season, Herrick displayed the versatility and strength that Cirovski said reminded him a little bit of the program’s all-time leading scorer, Jason Garey.
Herrick finished crosses with his head and showed his touch, putting a goal in the top left corner from 30 yards out in a game against N.C. State on his way to scoring five goals in his first eight career games.
The Elmhurst, Ill., native recovered in time to record the game-winning assist in the Terps NCAA tournament match with St. John’s.
But then, Herrick tore the meniscus in his knee – twice. It was a slow recovery process, one he’s still going through even as he has regained the starting forward spot.
“Obviously, my legs still feel a little weak compared to what they should be,” Herrick said. “The first couple months, it was going slow. But since I’ve been back, it’s been going pretty good.”
Though he hasn’t scored this season for the Terps (4-1-0), Herrick has made an impact on the attack. Through four games he has one assist and a couple of scoring opportunities, one that missed by a matter of inches.
With a little more than 30 minutes left in the first half of the Terps’ Sept. 7 win against Davidson, Herrick gathered the ball and saw Davidson goalkeeper Matt McElroy out of the net. Herrick flicked a shot over McElroy’s head, and the ball skirted just outside the left post.
“I missed it by a little bit, but they’ll come,” Herrick said. “When we need to score I think I’ll be the guy and I’ll get the big one.”
That confidence is another reason why Cirovski said it’s only a matter of time before Herrick gets back to full strength and completes his comeback.
“He just has a malice about the way he plays,” Cirovski said. “He can throw fear into any team.”
But the intensity Herrick plays with also made sitting through the injury harder, though Herrick said he eventually found the right mindset.
“It was frustrating. But I just decided that once it happened, it’s done. I can’t do anything about it, so I just tried to make the best out of it,” Herrick said. “I tried to find the positives and just do whatever was best for the team, whether it was talking to people and motivating or whatever I could do from the sideline.”
Now that Herrick is off the sideline and healthy for the first time in a year, Cirovski hopes the forward will again show the promise he did during his freshman year.
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