Men's soccer rolls Wolfpack as perfect record remains intact

With less than 20 seconds remaining in the first half of an eventual 3-1 win over N.C. State on Friday, a national player of the year candidate and the reigning ACC Player of the Week lurked near the Wolfpack net.

Neither Casey Townsend nor Patrick Mullins set off the first spark for the Terrapins men's soccer team's offense Friday night, however. Instead, it was a relatively unknown freshman who the NCAA had cleared to play just two weeks before.

After a scramble in the penalty box, midfielder Mikias Eticha darted past two Wolfpack defenders and slid for a 3-yard score. The freshman's first career goal epitomized the key to the Terps' early-season success: their depth.

Although he's relied upon the frontline duo of Townsend and Mullins for more than 50 percent of their goals, coach Sasho Cirovski has repeatedly praised his bench's strength.

"We're going to rely on our depth to wear teams down," Cirovski said at the team's media day in August.

And that's exactly what they've done.

Cirovski consistently employs a 20-man rotation, and the fresh legs have proved pivotal to the No. 1 Terps' unblemished record this season.

The Terps (7-0, 2-0 ACC) have scored the majority of their goals in the second half, and they've run away with games in the latter part of matches against No. 14 St. John's and No. 23 West Virginia.

Eticha's score in the waning moments of the first half against N.C. State (2-2-2, 0-1 ACC) triggered yet another offensive outburst Friday night. Less than three minutes into the second half, redshirt freshman midfielder Jereme Raley rebounded a Townsend header and volleyed it past Wolfpack goalkeeper Fabian Otte for a 2-0 lead.

And less than eight minutes later, midfielder John Stertzer secured the win with his fifth goal of the season — a 5-yard rocket assisted by midfielder Sunny Jane.

"Obviously Casey and Pat have scored a ton this season," Raley said, "but we needed other people to step up and make goals tonight."

Led by two freshmen — Raley and Eticha — the Terps wore down an N.C. State defense that entered Friday's game atop the ACC in goals allowed. The Wolfpack had conceded just two goals through their first five games.

"It took us awhile to get in a rhythm," Cirovski said. "But after [Eticha's] goal at the end of the first half, we played some good soccer."

The Terps' lone blemish came with 40 seconds remaining in their 10th straight ACC win, as N.C. State forward Monbo Bokar broke into space and netted an 11-yard garbage goal past a diving Will Swaim.

"We just got caught being lackadaisical with the ball," defender London Woodberry said. "It was just a lack of concentration in the last part of the game. We have to get sharper going into next week's game."

That test will come Tuesday, when the Terps hit the road to face a struggling Seton Hall squad.

Although it will mark the Terps' third game in ten days, Cirovski expects to find his team ready to steal its third win against a Big East opponent this year.

After all, they have the depth.

"Fatigue isn't a factor for us," Cirovski said earlier last week. "We work hard to make sure it never is."

letourneau@umdbk.com