Terps' go off for 7 goals Tuesday night

Early in the second half Tuesday night, Terrapin men's soccer goalkeeper Will Swaim was somehow under pressure.

It had been a comfortable night for Swaim and his defense, and the ball was at his feet for the first time in a while. A Duquesne striker was charging toward him and Swaim naturally wound up his right leg for a clearance effort.

Only he never followed through. With the forward already skyward, Swaim calmly and deftly tapped the ball to his left foot for a juke around the player already in flight.

It was that kind of night for the Terps. A hat trick, more than a team's worth of Terp substitutes and even a goalkeeper feint, were just some of the side stories to Tuesday night's fireworks show, a 7-0 Terps victory over the hapless Dukes.

"We keep talking about what identity this team will have," coach Sasho Cirovski said. "I asked them to play with a lot of honesty and integrity in their game and to do all the little things right. And they did that."

The Terps' ringleader Tuesday was forward Casey Townsend, who began the game with no goals on the year.

After midfielder Matt Kassel opened the scoring with a screaming free kick from 25 yards out that Duquesne goalkeeper Colin Thorp couldn't handle, Townsend finally broke through.

On one of the first of the team's 12 corner kicks, Kassel found forward Jason Herrick in the box, who passed it onward. The ball found its way to Townsend's forehead, and the sophomore slotted it in between Thorp and the man defending the far post for a 2-0 lead.

"I caught a break and once one goes, a lot seem to follow," Townsend said.

Two more followed, to be exact.

Thirteen minutes later, after midfielder Drew Yates converted a penalty kick for a three-goal lead, Townsend found himself on the receiving end of a long ball from Swaim. The lob found its way over the head of a Duquesne player and finally stopped at Townsend's feet.

"I saw it bounce over the guy's head and as I was going, I was like ‘Come on, come on, just give it to me," said Swaim, who got the nod over goalkeeper Zac MacMath due to illness.

Thorp challenged Townsend near the edge of the box, but just like the match, it was no contest. Townsend ripped a right-footed shot past Thorp for his second tally and the final goal of the half.

The Traverse City, Mich., native wrapped up the first hat trick of his career after collecting a deflected ball from striker Alex Lee, spinning away from traffic inside the box and placing a shot into the net in one smooth movement.

"He's like a great goal scorer: He lets it all flow and he knows his goals will come," Cirovski said.

Townsend even let some freshmen take part in the goal-scoring frenzy. Defender Ethan White and forward John Stertzer each notched the first goals of their careers last night.

shaffer@umdbk.com