Henry’s defense key in knocking off No. 1 St. John’s

One of the biggest questions for the Boston University men’s soccer team entering this season was how the Terriers would replace the shutdown defense and backline leadership of graduated-captain and middle-back Dan Schultz.

One of the biggest reasons No. 14 BU is off to a 3-1-1 start with wins over the likes of then-No. 12 University of Connecticut last weekend and No. 1 St. John’s University Sunday night is the man who replaced Schultz ‘-‘- sophomore Colin Henry.

The Norwell native has made a seamless transition from outside back to middle back ‘-‘- a crucial position in BU coach Neil Roberts’ three-back system.

‘It’s a lot more responsibility,’ Henry said of the new position. ‘I’m not really a big talk guy, but you have to talk a lot more when you’re playing that position. It’s taken a little bit to get used to, but I think I’m almost getting there.’

Henry was up to the task again last night as he was assigned the duty of marking junior forward Sverre Wegge Gundhus, St. John’s leading scorer and the man who ended the Terriers’ season last year with an 83rd-minute go-ahead goal in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

There would be no late heroics for the Norwegian junior last night, though. Henry and the rest of the BU defense held Wegge Gundhus to just two shots, neither of which was on goal.

‘He’s extremely good,’ Henry said. ‘We just came off the Harvard game against [first-team All-American Andre] Akpan, and [Wegge Gundhus] is definitely up there with him. It was crazy because the last 20 minutes of the game, they just kept pounding and pounding and pounding. They probably had four or five men up the whole time.’

That constant pressure resulted in a golden opportunity for the Red Storm with just over 11 minutes left in the game. St. John’s junior forward Adam Himeno sent a cross into the box from the right corner that the Terriers had trouble clearing.

After a bit of a scramble, the ball ended up on the foot of Wegge Gundhus, who quickly put a shot toward the left side of the net that beat BU senior goalie Hrafn Davidsson. Whether or not the shot would’ve gone in will never be known, because Henry was in perfect position to head the ball away before it got that far.

Henry’s redirect actually ended up on the foot of another Red Storm player, but senior midfielder Richy Dorman broke that up with a slide tackle.

‘Let’s say it was going in,’ Henry said jokingly after the game. ‘I headed it right toward their guy, which kind of sucked. But we’ll say I saved a goal.’

Although the play stood out last night, Henry probably won’t be the most noticeable player in many BU games. He won’t be the flashiest or most exciting. He may not record a single point all year. But he will be one of the most important components of this team as the Terriers climb up the national rankings and strive to surpass last year’s second-round NCAA exit.

‘He’s probably the most under-respected player on our team,’ Roberts said. ‘He is a fantastic defender. He’s played against some great attacking players, and he’s just doing a solid job for us.’