Men's soccer's ‘big three’ too much for 49ers

The Terrapins men's soccer team knows better than to mess with a good thing.

The No. 3 Terps have leaned heavily on their vaunted three-headed attack against top-tier competition, and the results have been glowing. With forwards Casey Townsend and Patrick Mullins and midfielder John Stertzer powering their offense, the Terps entered their latest battle having outscored top-25 competition 10-1 this season.

It was no surprise, then, that the Terps again looked toward their dynamic trio to capture a 3-1 win over No. 12 Charlotte at Ludwig Field last night, their ninth in 10 games.

"They've been great," coach Sasho Cirovski said. "They lead certainly by example, and they play with a lot of pride. I think people saw them step it up another notch today."

After the two top-15 squads traded possession in the opening 20 minutes, Mullins darted past his marker and launched a shot just outside the penalty area. The attempt clanged off the goalpost, but Townsend burst through Charlotte's backline and netted a 15-yard rebound goal.

That the senior notched his ACC-leading 10th score of the season last night wasn't a surprise, especially considering the team's first month of play. Whether they're shooting or passing, at least one member of what Cirovski calls his "big three" seems to be involved in almost every Terps (9-0-1) attack this season. Townsend, Mullins and Stertzer account for more than 80 percent of the Terps' goals this season, and they tallied all six of the team's shots on goal last night.

"As a trio, we've put in a lot of goals and I think our team expects that from us," Townsend said. "If that's what it takes for us to win, I'm okay with that."

Although he didn't bury the goal, Mullins was again pivotal in the 30th minute, when he blew by his defender and launched a shot just outside the 6-yard box. After Charlotte (7-2-0) goalkeeper Klay Davis blocked the attempt, 49ers defender Anthony Perez netted an own goal after misfiring on a clear.

Perhaps feeling left out of the excitement, Stertzer joined the party just minutes later when he controlled midfielder Jereme Raley's corner kick and netted his seventh goal of the season, giving the Terps a 3-0 lead late in the first half.

But the 49ers, who had allowed just six goals entering the nonconference showdown, weren't quite ready to concede their second loss of the season. Moments after Stertzer's goal, 49ers forward Donnie Smith darted up the left end line and curled an 8-yard attempt past a diving Will Swaim.

"Charlotte's a great team, and they really showed that tonight," Cirovski said. "They never gave up, and they played hard the entire game."

Both teams struggled to score after halftime, and good-natured competition devolved into a laundry list of fouls. The 49ers (17 fouls) went down all but swinging, and several near-fights with the Terps broke out in the final 30 minutes.

Even with the sporadic skirmishes, Charlotte found enough open space to hand Swaim his fullest workload of the season. The fifth-year senior, who had waited and watched as his team dominated possession in recent games, finished with a season-high five saves last night.

Those saves proved critical in securing the Terps' best start in more than a half-century. Cirovski's squad is undefeated through its first 10 games for the first time since 1969, and just as they could for the majority of their games this season, the Terps have their "big three" to thank for that feat.

"They make everyone else's job 100 times easier," Swaim said. "Knowing that you have three guys that can go out and score on a nightly basis is huge for us."

letourneau@umdbk.com