A Maryland men's soccer team seeded fifth in the NCAA tournament could welcome back an important member of its offense for Sunday's second-round game against Providence at Ludwig Field in College Park at 5 p.m.
Sasho Cirovski said Friday afternoon that he is "hopeful" that Schillo Tshuma will return after suffering a muscle injury in last Friday's 1-0 overtime win against Clemson in an Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinal. The sophomore forward sat out the Terps' 1-0 decision against Virginia in the title game, but still ranks second on the team in both goals (six) and points (13).
"He's making progress," Cirovski said. "We're going to see how he's doing today. So today will be the important day."
Maryland (13-3-5) will meet a Friars squad (13-5-3) that was extended to 90 minutes of regulation and two overtimes before outlasting Pennsylvania, 3-1, in the penalty kick shootout. Energy might therefore be a concern, but Cirovski said he anticipates that Providence will be amped for Sunday's contest.
"We're going to expect that they're going to be fresh and ready to go," he said. "They're a very good team. They were unfortunate not to win in regulation. They've got a lot of weapons. They're good in set pieces, they're good in the flow of play, they're big and strong. They're going to be a handful, but we've played some very good teams this year, and I think we'll be well prepared."
Seven days will have passed between the Terps' last game and Sunday's clash. Is rust a concern for Cirovski?
"Not at all," he said. 'We've been sharpening the iron all week long."