Cruise control

With his squad already comfortably ahead of No. 8 Boston College, Taylor Kemp received a ball just inside the Eagles' half Friday night.

After first looking to pass, the Terrapins men's soccer defender slid past his marker and eyed his target.

"When I saw that I had a good look at the goal, I thought, ‘Why not?'" said Kemp, who's naturally left-footed. "I just let it go."

Kemp watched as his 30-yard, right-footed rocket soared into the upper 90, just barely eluding the grasp of Eagles goalkeeper Justin Luthy.

His jaw-dropping score, which came in the 70th minute of a 4-0 rout, epitomized his team's play Friday night: In their ACC opener at Ludwig Field, the No. 2 Terps (5-0, 1-0 ACC) seemingly could do no wrong.

They outshot the Eagles (4-1, 0-1), 18-4. Goalkeeper Will Swaim captured his second shutout without needing to record a save. And forward Patrick Mullins earned his first multi-goal game as a Terp, scoring twice within the first 16 minutes of the second half.

"Our guys played all the way out," said coach Sasho Cirovski, who was honored before the game for earning his 300th win last week against Radford. "I just thought the overall pride and commitment that the team showed was outstanding."

Forward Casey Townsend set an aggressive tone early, scoring off an assist from midfielder Sunny Jane less than 10 minutes after kickoff. Jane looped a ball to Townsend at the top of the penalty box, and the senior co-captain settled the pass with his chest before volleying it in for his fifth goal in five games.

Jane proved helpful once more moments into the second half. After darting through Boston College's backline, the first-year starter set up Mullins for an 8-yard blast in the game's 46th minute.

"Sunny was just creating chances, which was huge for us," Mullins said. "Honestly, [Boston College] couldn't stop him."

With the Terps leading 2-0, Jane's timely assist seemed to give Cirovski's squad the confidence necessary to close the door on its league rival.

Mullins was on the board again with a 5-yard tap-in halfway through the second half. And 10 minutes later, Kemp's 30-yard blast secured the Terps' first 5-0 start since 2004, sending the more than 4,200 in attendance at Ludwig Field into an uproar.

But as Cirovski reflected on his team's performance after the game, he failed to mention Kemp's score.

He focused, rather, on what he believes is key to the Terps' pursuit of a fourth national championship: defense.

"As impressive as the four goals are, I think what was more impressive was our commitment to defending," Cirovski said. "That was the most complete defensive effort we've had."

The Terps allowed just two shot attempts in each half, and kept their opponent without a shot on goal for the first time this season. Boston College didn't even get a corner kick.

Those numbers proved even more impressive considering that the Eagles had entered Friday's matchup outscoring their competition 12-3.

Keying the Terps' stifling backline was the return of defender Alex Lee. Lee left midway through the second half of the team's game against Stanford on Sept. 2 with an undisclosed leg injury and arrived at last Sunday's 2-1 win over Radford in street clothes.

Cirovski called Lee's start a "game-time decision," and added that he thought he would be without his senior anchor until Lee told him he felt ready to play during warm-ups moments before kickoff.

Lee and the Terps will have little time to bask in the glory of Friday's triumph, as they face an undefeated UMBC squad on Tuesday.

But that doesn't mean they're ready to completely forget the clinic they put on against Boston College.

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

letourneau@umdbk.com