Terp forwards, defense hurt by injuries

Last year, finding two forwards to fill out his starting 11 was the least of Terrapin men's soccer coach Sasho Cirovski's concerns. Now, it's one of the team's foremost issues.

The tandem of Jason Herrick and Casey Townsend missed only two games together all last season for the Terps. Only 15 games into this year, Townsend's injured left ankle has already sidelined him for eight games.

Without his running mate, Herrick has carried the load admirably up top, notching eight goals and six game-winners for the Terps. Still, Townsend's absence has left Cirovski to play musical chairs with his reserve forwards.

Jordan Cyrus became the third different Terp to start alongside Herrick in the past four games Saturday at Wake Forest. Matt Oduaran, John Stertzer and Cyrus have each started at forward once since Oct. 9, when Townsend re-aggravated his injury, but not one has found the net in that span.

"Young players are stepping in and doing a good job, but they're going to be a little bit inconsistent and a little bit unpredictable in terms of how they come out," Cirovski said.

• THINNING DEFENSE

It's been a disappearing act of late for the Terp defense.

Defender Taylor Kemp became the only player from the Terps' original starting backline who has yet to miss time this season after defender Ethan White suffered a leg injury Saturday.

Alex Lee was shelved indefinitely after he was hit by a car while crossing a street in Washington on Oct. 10, and Kevin Tangney missed the second half of the Terps' 2-1 win at Georgetown on Oct. 13 and has missed time in practice with a nagging leg injury.

Saturday, White became the latest victim on the Terps' snakebit defense. White limped off the field in the 23rd minute with what Cirovski later said was a quadriceps injury, leaving only Tangney and Kemp, as well as reserves Kwame Darko and Greg Young, to fend off a dangerous Wake Forest attack.

"It's definitely frustrating," Tangney said. "You develop certain chemistries on the field."

The No. 5 Terps are expected to limit their time in practice this week as they prepare for this Saturday's match against No. 12 Virginia.

"I think we're looking forward to getting a few days off this week and trying to get some other legs back and get some other freshness back," Cirovski said. "That's what we're hoping to do during the next stretch run."

• STANDINGS SHAKE-UP

Wake Forest's win Saturday night might have appeared to create a logjam at the top of the conference standings, where three teams now claim the top spot. Rather, the result cleared up the championship picture. The actual jumble lies beyond that.

The Terps, Demon Deacons and North Carolina are tied for first place in the ACC with 13 points, but only Wake Forest has one loss in conference play. The Terps and Tar Heels each have two losses in the league, and the Demon Deacons can repeat as regular season champions if they win out.

While Wake Forest's title scenarios are clear-cut — beat Boston College and Duke and earn the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament — the Terps' standing remains in flux.

A win Saturday against Virginia would secure at least a second-place finish and possibly a title should the Demon Deacons falter.

A defeat, however, might send them tumbling. A Terp loss this weekend would cap their conference record at 13 points and could conceivably open the door to any of the conference's second stratum — Duke, Boston College and Virginia — leapfrogging them.

The Blue Devils, Eagles and Cavaliers all currently sit tied for fourth place with nine points and two conference games remaining. Two wins by any of the three teams, plus another Terp loss, would catapult them above the Terps toward a higher seed in November's ACC Tournament.

shaffer@umdbk.com