Clemson storms back to topple Terps

CLEMSON, S.C. - Men's soccer coach Sasho Cirovski called it one of the most embarrassing moments of his entire coaching career. Cirovski labeled his team's defending "atrocious" and said he couldn't believe what had just happened.

But after the No. 4 Terrapin men's soccer team's 5-3 loss at Clemson Friday night, Cirovski didn't need to say anything to explain how poorly his team played. The facts tell the story.

Trailing 3-2 in the 79th minute, the Tigers scored three goals in 1:23, after scoring just eight goals in eight games entering the match.

The third goal was a header by Clemson forward Michael Brooks off of a free kick, the fourth a score from forward Hassan Ibrahim 32 seconds later and the fifth another header from Brooks off of a cross.

Of Clemson's six shots on goal, five found the back of the net, a bad sign for goalkeeper Will Swaim, who was replaced by freshman Zac MacMath just before Clemson's final goal.

"There's no way this game should have ended up like this," Cirovski said. "We're obviously gonna have to take a real good look at ourselves and figure out what's wrong. When we have a chance to look at the video, we'll see some real concerning areas that we have to address."

Brooks, who didn't start the game and had one goal all season, scored four Friday, including two in the pivotal minute-and-a-half stretch.

The failures of the defense - Brooks was left unmarked in the box numerous times and Clemson (3-4-2, 2-1-1 ACC) regularly had space to operate on the right side during counter attacks - masked a strong outing from midfielders Jeremy Hall and Doug Rodkey, who had struggled in recent games.

Rodkey provided two quality crosses for assists while Hall had two goals, including a penalty kick that put the No. 4 Terps (7-3-0, 2-2-0) up 3-2 in the 76th minute.

But all of the Terps' offensive progress, which included forward Casey Townsend's sixth goal of the year on a nifty chest trap and turnaround shot to put the Terps up 2-1 in the 62nd minute, was washed away by the 83-second meltdown in the second half.

Cirovski declined to make players available for comment after the game and was clearly frustrated when discussing what had transpired just minutes before in front of a boisterous Clemson crowd at Historic Riggs Field.

The team huddled together in the penalty box after the game for a players-only meeting that lasted about 10 minutes, deviating from normal post-game protocol as the coaching staff stood to the side. Earlier in the game, one player could be heard urging his teammates to perform better from the sideline.

"We had way too many breakdowns on the field and we're gonna have to learn from it," Cirovski said. "I knew that Clemson would be a dangerous team. They got some momentum and everything they touched was golden."

It was a shocking turn of events for an experienced defensive unit that had been regarded among the best in the country. Now, there are plenty of unanswered questions about their play and about the goalie situation going into Tuesday's home match with 8-1-0 Charlotte.

"We had this game won," Cirovski said. "That's what we usually do to other teams. To have it done to us is, it's an embarrassing moment for our team. There's no other way to say it."

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