Men's soccer prepares for Duquesne

The No. 7 Terrapin men's soccer team's matchup tonight with Duquesne doesn't seem like much but a cool-down from an ACC-opening victory over Boston College on Friday and a warm-up to Saturday's duel with league dark horse No. 18 N.C. State.

But as mediocre as the Dukes (2-2) may be — the team was picked to finish 9th in the Atlantic 10 and was shut out by Saint Francis (Pa.) and Bowling Green this month — coach Sasho Cirovski said he finds it impossible to look past anyone considering what happened on another Tuesday night almost six years ago.

On Nov. 4, 2003, a No. 2 Terp squad waltzed onto Ludwig Field feeling pretty good about itself. A 1-0 win over rival Virginia four days earlier clinched the program's first ACC regular season championship since 1971, and that Friday they would be honoring seven seniors who had helped Cirovski take the Terps to their first-ever No. 1 ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.

Before a meager crowd of a little more than 1,000 spectators, a solid Bucknell squad that had dominated the Patriot League showed it had something to prove. It took only 92 seconds to get the Terps' attention.

Less than two minutes in, the Bison scored the only goal of the game on their only shot of the first half. The 1-0 Terps loss would be one of only three that season.

Duquesne probably isn't as good as that Bucknell team, but these Terps might also not be as good as that 2003 squad, which later made its second consecutive College Cup. Cirovski, understandably, is cautious.

"[We've] seen some different styles and different challenges, and tomorrow will be another one, a different type of challenge," he said yesterday.

• BENCH CLEARING

After only two fleeting substitutions against then-No. 8 Cal — forwards Billy Cortes and Matt Oduaran saw only enough time on the field to allow starting forwards Casey Townsend and Jason Herrick a gulp of water and a quick breather — Cirovski reached deeper into his bench Friday.

Veterans Cortes, Oduaran and Kwame Darko, as well as freshmen John Stertzer, London Woodberry and Paul Torres all saw time against B.C. The group registered only two of the team's 23 shots, but if things go as planned tonight against Duquesne, expect to see them once more — if not with even more new faces.

"I thought all the guys that came in helped us," Cirovski said. "I thought London did a good job on the outside. Billy did a good job on the left side. Even Paul Torres …  I thought he had a very good contribution in the short period of time. That's a credit to him and the guys for valuing every minute."

• BUSY BACKLINERS

Defenders Taylor Kemp and Ethan White have been running a lot this fall. It's not a punishment for messing up, and it's not part of a freshmen "initiation" process from upperclassmen.

According to Cirovski, their endless activity — the two have played every minute of every game since the Terps scrimmaged Villanova Aug. 27 — is necessary.

"I've purposely kept the backline intact for longer periods in games just because I want that relation to become stronger and deal with some different situations," said Cirovski, who's replacing his entire back four from last season. "That was done by design to try to get those guys a lot of time and build their relationships on the field."

shaffer@umdbk.com