No. 5 Terps taking on defending ACC champs

CARY, N.C. - After the Terrapin men's soccer team beat then-No. 9 Boston College 1-0 in its ACC opener on Sept. 12, it was easy to dismiss the Eagles as true conference heavyweights.

Even though they were able to claw their way to the No. 3 seed in this week's ACC tournament, the now-unranked Eagles struggled at times this season, dropping games to Brown and Holy Cross and finishing dead last in the conference in goals scored.

But as the No. 2-seeded Terps, ranked No. 5 nationally, prepare to face Boston College in the tournament semifinals today, the Eagles' struggles don't necessarily translate into much of an advantage for the Terps.

That's because last season in this very tournament, played on the same site at the WakeMed Soccer Park, it was the Eagles who walked off as ACC champions. After yesterday's light workout, no one was more mindful of that fact than coach Sasho Cirovski and his players.

"They return a lot of players," Cirovski said. "They have nine [regular] players now that were on the field last year when they were ACC champions. They have a sense of confidence down here."

So even as some Terps, such as midfielder Doug Rodkey, relish the opportunity of a potential re-match with No. 1 Wake Forest in Sunday's ACC championship game, they are giving Boston College the respect they deserve as last year's tournament champions.

"Them being the reigning champs is a big deal to us, so we're gonna come out and hopefully get a win and then face Wake," Rodkey said. "They're a very good team. We played them earlier this year and it was a very tough game, so we're just getting mentally prepared and taking them very seriously."

The teams' first meeting, that 1-0 Terp win in College Park, was an evenly contested match. Unlike the case in many of the Terps' one-goal victories this season, in which they clearly outplayed their opponent yet couldn't find the back of the net on good scoring chances, the Boston College game could have gone either way.

Midfielder Graham Zusi scored the lone goal in the 12th minute. But the Eagles controlled the pace of play at times, and ended up with just one fewer shot.

After his team's uneven performance in its 1-0 double overtime win against Clemson in the quarterfinals Wednesday, Boston College coach Ed Kelly said the Eagles are looking forward to the rematch.

"We're happy to be playing Maryland," Kelly said. "They're a good team, and hopefully it will be a better game than it was today. Maryland plays a lot more on the ground, so that will be an easier team to play against, even though they are a very good team. But style-wise, it suits us better than playing against Clemson."

The Eagles' style is similar to the Terps' in that both teams focus on defending first. While the Terps were second in the ACC with only 0.89 goals allowed per game, Boston College was third with 1.06 allowed per game.

Scoring might be more difficult for the Terps, because of Wednesday's injury to starting midfielder Matt Kassel.

Kassel, who all year has been the team's most prominent set piece taker, suffered a right foot contusion in the first half of the Terps' 1-0 win against North Carolina. He is questionable for today's game, according to Cirovski, who stressed how important it will be for his team to take advantage of their offensive opportunities.

"They're a tough team to penetrate," Cirovski said. "They don't give away a lot of chances. They don't give away a lot of goals. It's a two [versus] three matchup. It's two very good teams."

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