Grinding schedule beginning to impact men's soccer

During Tuesday night's 2-1 overtime win over Rutgers, the Terrapins men's soccer team showed all the trademark signs of exhaustion.

For much of the 97 minutes leading up to midfielder John Stertzer's game-winning header, the No. 2 Terps were outhustled, out-thought and downright outworked by an unranked Scarlet Knights squad in front of 2,246 at Ludwig Field.

"Fatigue definitely played a factor," goalkeeper Will Swaim said. "Especially when you have such a counter-attacking team like Rutgers and the way they play, it really became difficult for our guys."

But given their recent workload, the Terps' tired legs were understandable.

The Terps have played more games (12) than any other team ranked in the top 25 of the NSCAA Coaches Poll, and they were coming off two wins against top-15 teams last week.

Though he's never been reluctant to address his team's shortcomings, coach Sasho Cirovski took the majority of the blame for his players' performance Tuesday.

"I take responsibility because I've overscheduled our team right now," he said. "We haven't had a midweek break. So I've overscheduled probably, and that's my responsibility."

The Terps will continue that rough stretch when they play at ACC rival Virginia on Friday. But after playing Division II school Adelphi Tuesday, they won't play another early midweek game for the remainder of the regular season.

"Hopefully we can get through it," Cirovski said, "and we can end up getting re-energized."

TROPHY CASE

After leading the Terps to a pair of critical wins last week, forward Casey Townsend has earned several prestigious honors in recent days.

In addition to being tabbed ACC Player of the Week on Tuesday, the Traverse City, Mich., native was named the NSCAA and Soccer America Player of the Week yesterday.

Townsend tallied a goal in the 22nd minute of the Terps' 3-1 win over then-No. 12 Charlotte on Tuesday and notched the lone goal in a 1-0 win over then-No. 2 Creighton on Friday.

A candidate for the MAC Hermann Trophy, given annually to the sport's best player, Townsend ranks second in Division I with 11 goals this season.

"This season has been a lot of fun," Townsend said last week. "I'm just playing as free as I've ever played. I mean, I don't have any worries in the world."

CAVS COMING

After Tuesday night's nail biter against Rutgers, the Terps are readying for another test at ACC rival Virginia tomorrow.

A mainstay in the NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers have dropped four games this season, all to quality opponents, and aren't currently ranked in the Top 25 of the NSCAA Coaches Poll.

But that may not be such a good thing for Cirovski's squad. The Terps have outscored ranked opponents 14-2 this season. Against unranked teams, their margin is just 17-6.

"Virginia's a much better team than their record," Cirovski said. "They're going to give us their best effort, so we'll have to be ready to give them our best."

letourneau@umdbk.com