Cirovski concerned as issues for men's soccer continue

Sasho Cirovski is no alarmist.

The Terrapins men's soccer coach prides himself on his ability to maintain perspective. No matter the stakes, he enters each practice and every game with a measured approach.

So when a reporter asked Cirovski how he felt about his team's early exit from the ACC Tournament on Tuesday, it was clear the former NSCAA National Coach of the Year meant what he had to say.

"I'm very concerned," Cirovski said shortly after the No. 2 seed Terps suffered a 2-1 loss to No. 7 seed Boston College in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. "We haven't really had our same lineup for a while. So yeah, I'm very concerned right now."

Given the Terps' recent performance, no one can blame him.

The Terps are struggling through a four-game winless streak, and they haven't won in more than three weeks, their longest such stretch since 2004.

It's been quite the collapse for a team that topped three separate weekly coaches polls this season.

"We've done it in reverse," Cirovski said. "We were much better in September than I thought we'd be, and now we're going through the growing pains."

Less than two months ago, the Terps were enjoying their best start in more than 40 years. They were riding a seven-game win streak and had outscored their opponents, 23-6. All of the goals Cirovski had set in the preseason — ACC regular-season title, ACC Tournament title, national title — seemed well within their reach.

But then something happened: They lost their first game.

The Terps' frustrations started shortly after that 2-1 defeat at Virginia on Oct. 7. Over the course of their next two outings, two starters received red cards and were forced to sit out one game each.

It also didn't help that defender Alex Lee, a senior captain, suffered a thigh injury against North Carolina on Oct. 21. Lee was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Terps lost to an unranked Clemson squad a week later. That same injury flared up in the first half of Tuesday's game, forcing him to sit out the final 77 minutes.

"We've had some things not go our way, but the bottom line is we've taken our foot off the accelerator," defender Taylor Kemp said after the loss to the Tigers. "Going forward, we've got to do the little things to get back on track."

But getting back to their early-season form won't be a simple matter.

Midfielder John Stertzer, who leads the Terps in goals, was unavailable against Boston College after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season Nov. 3 against Wake Forest. His absence only highlighted the Terps' recent offensive struggles.

Before their winless stretch, the team averaged more than two and a half goals a game. In their past four games, the Terps haven't managed a multi-goal game once.

"That's on us," Mullins said last week. "That's on Casey [Townsend] and me, and all the guys in the attacking third. That's something we need to get right."

After Tuesday's loss extinguished the Terps' hopes of capturing a second straight ACC Tournament title, that need has never been greater. They've already come up short on two of their three preseason goals. They'll have less than two weeks to prepare before chasing the third.

"I'll sacrifice the ACC Tournament for a chance to go to Alabama [for the College Cup]," Cirovski said. "So all of our focus now is about getting to Alabama."

letourneau@umdbk.com