WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2008 | SPORTS | THE DIAMONDBACK
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Injuries keeping Terps down BY AARON KRAUT Senior staff writer
Michael Marchiano, shown above playing last season, is one of several Terps dealing with injuries. FILE PHOTO/THE DIAMONDBACK
The Terrapin men’s soccer team took a red-eye flight home from Los Angeles Sunday night and returned with more than a basic case of jet lag. Injuries are starting to pile up, and even though most are day-to-day cases and a talented freshman class has arrived to add depth, coach Sasho Cirovski is taking no chances going into this weekend’s home opener against Hartford. Freshman Casey Townsend was injured and left in the first half of Sunday’s 1-0 loss against California. Freshman midfielder Matt Kassel suffered cramps in the game as well. Sophomore forward Jason Herrick sat out practice yesterday and didn’t play in the loss against Cal because of a foot injury from Friday against UCLA. “I definitely think Friday night’s game took a lot out of us,” sophomore Rodney Wallace said. “Injuries did also play a role in the [Cal] game, but we also had some other guys step up.” With both Townsend and Herrick unable
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MEN’S SOCCER
to play, freshmen Matt Oduaran and Alex Lee played forward and held their own, according to Cirovski. “There’s no question, they played significant minutes, and both played well against Cal,” Cirovski said. “Both are very capable guys. They are strong and athletic guys and are both physically tough.” Because freshman midfielder Kaoru Forbess is not cleared to practice due to a back injury and senior midfielder Michael Marchiano is still nursing an ankle injury, freshmen such as Oduaran and Lee are going to play significant minutes at multiple positions. Lee spent the entire preseason at leftside back. “Matt Oduaran and Alex Lee played great up top,” Wallace said. “We’re looking for those guys on the field that are able to step in and do their job.” Despite those performances, the Terps faded down the stretch after controlling
most of the game Sunday. After outshooting Cal 8-3 in the first half, the Bears steadily increased their offensive pressure in the second before scoring the game-winner with three minutes remaining. Cirovski will determine the status of Townsend and Herrick for Friday’s homeopener either today or tomorrow. Both players are expected to be back. But with the long-term injuries to Forbess and Marchiano, who has suffered through a long list of injuries throughout his collegiate career, the Terps’ depth will be tested. In Friday night’s 2-1 overtime win over UCLA, the Terps were able to bring players off the bench and get the tying goal in the final minute from sophomore substitution Sean Flatley. “Even in the UCLA game where we had to fight and scramble and get a bunch of bodies in where last year we could have petered out late because we didn’t have the numbers to put in there,” Cirovski said. “I think our depth already paid off.” akrautdbk@gmail.com
TERRAPIN FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK (CONT.)
Egekeze to start; Portis likes Juice NOTEBOOK, from Page 10 practices this week. We’ll play the guy I feel can best help us win the football game.” Steffy and Turner were not available for comment. But Friedgen did promise that Steffy will make an impact again this season, saying his senior starter, who started the first five games last season before sustaining a concussion, will come in and win a game for the Terps at some point. “I’m like the father, and if you boo my son, I’m going to get upset,” Friedgen said. “That’s how I look at this kid.”
Egekeze still kicking
Jordan Steffy (above) and Chris Turner lack the athleticism Josh Portis provides the Terps at quarterback. ADAM FRIED/THE DIAMONDBACK
Friedgen said senior kicker Obi Egekeze, who missed three first-half field goals against Delaware, had a good practice Monday and will keep his job. “He kicked the ball very
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well last night,” Friedgen said. “I’m hanging with him.” Each miss against Delaware was from more than 40 yards, and Friedgen said Egekeze, who was 17-23 on field goal attempts last season, needs some confidence. Portis said it’s the team’s job to keep Egekeze positive. “I was telling the guys on the sideline, we can’t get down on him,” Portis said. “We might need him later on in the season or later on in the game. If somebody makes mistakes, we’ve got to build confidence on them.” Friedgen praised Egekeze’s three kickoffs after Saturday’s game and said he knows from experience panicking about some early season misses would be a mistake. “I was with a guy a couple years ago, Nick Novak, who missed his first seven and now is the leading points scorer in the history of the University of Maryland,” Friedgen said. “Let’s not jump ship too soon.”
Be like Juice From making his first collegiate appearance in more than two years Saturday, Portis drew inspiration from watching other games around the country, especially the Illinois-Missouri match-up. The Florida transfer who ran the ball four times for 10 yards on his only four snaps, said he feels like he can best be utilized when he can drop back and look to throw or run, a la Illinois quarterback Juice Williams, whose Illini fell to the Tigers 52-42 Saturday night. “I thought Juice Williams did a helluva job with breaking containment and throwing the ball deep and giving his playmakers a chance to go get the ball,” Portis said. “I was thinking that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to open that thing up. We’ve got to take shots.” Franklin said the Portis “package” is designed to give the team favorable match-ups that should have made his plays more successful, although several times the plays were affected because of errors in calling the play in the huddle. “He was a little nervous, and that’s completely understandable, but that’ll grow,” Franklin said. “We’ll run him again and throw him some more, and let that package grow.” edetweilerdbk@gmail.com
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