If you want to build a championship-caliber soccer program, this is the way to start.
Just three games into its season, the Boston University men’s soccer team has shown some very telling signs of being the playoff-worthy squad it was projected to be during the preseason.
The Terriers have shown their talent and ability to play through’ adversity.They’ve stood up to the physical play of non-conference teams and come out the victors. If the Terriers play for the rest of the season like they’ve played for their last two games, BU could be hosting another championship parade down Commonwealth Avenue in the near future.’
‘We think our play is good enough to [compete nationally],’ BU coach Neil Roberts said. ‘We have the versatility to do that. We want to be a player, and to be a player you have to go into a Connecticut, you have to go into a Virginia, you have to go into a Maryland and not just play them well, but draw them or beat them.’
Despite its current success, the team that began against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst just six days ago seemed frustrated and unable to convert on multiple scoring chances.’ An offsides call that nullified a goal from freshman Ade Akinsanya deflated the Terriers early offensive efforts. It took them until 65:52 to tie the score for good on junior Aaron O’Neal’s goal.
Now, after back-to-back shutout games, the Terriers have reasserted themselves as players on a national stage and look like a much improved team. The key to the resurgence of their offense was, according to Roberts, as simple as executing their plays more efficiently.
‘There really hasn’t been a lot of difference,’ Roberts said. ‘We’ve just done it better. We could’ve had four goals against UMass. We had more scoring chances against them than we did tonight [against Providence]. I think what we’re doing is playing better defensively, especially in the midfield.’
The Terriers’ win against the previously No. 12 University of Connecticut on Saturday, and their similar victory against Providence College yesterday, proved a lot of things for the team.
The victories not only erased the stigma of their first draw of the season but also showed the Terriers themselves that they could win despite losing a star player. Senior Sean Taylor’s injury left a gaping hole in the Terriers’ leadership that several other younger players have been quick to fill.
One of those players is sophomore Michael Bustamante, an experienced midfielder whose speed and awareness overwhelmed the Friars Monday, helping his team to a 3-0 win. The sophomore made two spectacular plays through a physical Providence defense to assist on two of the Terriers’ three goals on the night.
‘When I just have one person to beat, it’s just instant,’ Bustamante said of his second assist. ‘It’s like he’s telling me to take him on.’
What might have been fueling Bustamante’s performance was the motivation to prove that the Terriers’ blowout of UConn was no accident.’
‘We wanted to show that we could do that to any team in the country,’ Bustamante said.
Bustamante’s second assist in last night’s game landed on the foot of O’Neal, who has scored four of the Terriers’ last six goals. While it is improbable, the junior’s sudden scoring run is not out of character. In his freshman year, O’Neal led the team in points and goals scored with 16 and six, respectively. Last season saw a slight drop off in production for the young talent even though he was still third on the team in points with 10. Still, O’Neal humbly attributes his success to the talent of his teammates.
‘When I get my chances [to score], I just try to finish them the best that I can,’ O’Neal said. ‘The guys have been setting me up real nice.’
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