Battling to get back

Casey Townsend couldn't hide his confusion after the Terrapins men's soccer team's 1-1 tie against Wake Forest last Thursday night.

With his brow furrowed and his voice hoarse, the Terps forward struggled to comprehend what had just taken place on Ludwig Field.

The No. 4 Terps (13-2-3, 4-2-2 ACC) notched a season-high 14 shots on goal against the Demon Deacons. They allowed just three. Yet for the third straight game, the No. 4 Terps didn't win, leaving their MAC Hermann Trophy candidate searching for answers.

"It's very frustrating," said Townsend, who hasn't scored a goal of his own in more than a month. "I mean, I'm not really sure what the problem was. We definitely should've scored a couple more goals."

But whatever the issue was, one thing's certain: The No. 2-seed Terps need it fixed by tonight's ACC Tournament quarterfinal matchup against No. 7-seed Boston College.

Because whether they're ready or not, the Eagles (12-5, 4-4) will be out for revenge.

In their first meeting Sept. 9, the Terps routed Boston College, 4-0, before 4,244 at Ludwig Field. It was the Eagles' most lopsided loss of the year, an uncharacteristic misstep for a team that's been ranked in the top 25 of the NSCAA Coaches Poll all year.

Coach Sasho Cirovski knew as much. Just moments after securing that win, he struggled to mask his optimism for the season to come.

"That's the kind of game that makes you believe that you can accomplish some great things," he said.

And for the most part, the Terps have done just that this year. There was the week in late September when the Terps captured wins over two top-15 squads in a span of just three days. There was last month's complete shutdown of Duke forward Andrew Wenger, who was the nation's top scorer at the time.

But lately, headaches have replaced highlights.

The Terps haven't won since beating the Blue Devils on Oct. 14. They lost at unranked Clemson on Oct. 28 and followed that performance with their dissatisfying draw against Wake Forest. And after averaging more than two and a half goals through their first 15 games, the Terps have notched just one in each of their past three.

Forward Patrick Mullins, who exploded for five goals through the Terps' first five games, has netted just one in their previous 13. Townsend, who earned numerous honors for scoring 11 goals in 11 games earlier this season, doesn't have one in the past five.

"The goals just aren't flowing like they were earlier on in the season," Mullins said. "Teams are playing tougher, and we're not being as clinical in the final third as maybe we should be. That's on us. At this point in the season, we've got to put the ball in the back of the net."

That task won't be made any easier tonight against Boston College.

In addition to matching up against the ACC's third-ranked defense, the Terps will be without their leading scorer, midfielder John Stertzer.

Stertzer received his fifth yellow card of the season in the 25th minute of the Wake Forest game, a threshold that requires him to sit out the Terps' next game.

The Oakton, Va., native has been the lone sparkplug during the offense's recent struggles, netting all of the Terps' goals over the past three games and scoring seven times in their last seven.

And perhaps most importantly, he's done it efficiently. The Terps have scored on 13 percent of their attempts this season. Stertzer has scored on half of his.

Still, Cirovski isn't too concerned about his offense as he prepares for Boston College.

"John has been playing great for us," he said. "But I believe in all of our players, and I'm confident that whoever we plug into that [attacking midfielder] slot will perform."

Cirovski declined to offer any specifics on who would fill in for Stertzer tonight.

But as Townsend stood on Ludwig Field last Thursday, his worries weren't about who would be lining up alongside him against the Eagles. They were about moving on from last week's disappointment.

"You've just got to come back, put in the work in practice and hope the next game they go in," he said. "That's all you can really do."

letourneau@umdbk.com