The No. 17 Boston University men’s soccer team made sophomore Stephen Knox’s first-half goal stand on its own to upset No. 1 St. John’s University, 1-0, at Nickerson Field on Sunday.
It was BU’s first win over a top-ranked team since beating ex-USA National Team coach Bruce Arena’s University of Virginia team in 1994.
‘It’s a big win for our program,’ BU coach Neil Roberts said. ‘I don’t think it’s the biggest ever because it’s not in November, but it’s a very big win for us to try to get to where we want to go.’
The Terriers’ (3-1-1) midfield and backline beat the Red Storm (1-1-2) forwards to the majority of loose balls, neutralizing a St. John’s offensive attack that likes to dump the ball into the offensive zone and then chase it down for chances in front of the net.
‘That’s the way they play,’ Roberts said. ‘They try to get the big guys front-running the ball. It was [Wegge Gundus] up top. He’s good in the air and tries to knock it down for the second ball.’
St. John’s rarely converted on the second half of that formula. BU’s backline, led by sophomore middle-defenseman Colin Henry, played proactively on the ball in getting takeaways that led to BU fastbreaks.
The most important takeaway led to BU’s lone goal in the 34th minute.
Sophomore midfielder Michael Bustamente recovered a St. John’s turnover and knocked the ball out past midfield – where it ended up in the possession of junior forward Aaron O’Neal. O’Neal hesitated with the ball at the top of the penalty box, drawing a defender from the right and one from the left. His patience opened up a wide-open passing lane for a streaking Knox, whose low-liner found the corner of the net.
‘That’s what we work on, trying to get defenders moving,’ Roberst said. ‘Once Aaron sucked the two defenders in, he just slipped it across. He did a great job. It was a great finish by Knoxy.’
The goal was Knox’s first on the season.
‘We needed Knoxy to get a goal,’ Roberst said. ‘He hadn’t scored yet. He had a great preseason. So, Knoxy needed that as much as we did. Hopefully, that’s the start of something.’
The win is BU’s second over a ranked opponent this year, the first coming at the then-No. 12 University of Connecticut on Sept. 5.
BU is 3-0 this season when it scores the first goal. The Terriers have lost and tied the two games in which they have failed to do so.
‘The first goal is everything,’ Roberts said. ‘The UConn game, we get the first goal. The Harvard [University] game, they get the first goal. It changes the game completely. Now they have to push. In the Harvard game, we’re pushing, pushing, pushing.’
Near the 55th minute, St. John’s took up BU’s tact from two days ago at Harvard-‘pushing, pushing, pushing.’ But unlike Harvard, BU pushed back.
BU’s best defense proved to be a high-pressure offense. By keeping possession on the offensive end, the Terriers limited St. John’s chances.
‘If we relaxed at any moment, it’s possible they could’ve scored,’ Knox said. ‘And we really didn’t want that, so we had to bring the same intensity we brought in the first half to make sure we won the game.’
Sophomore midfielder Ben Berube best characterized the forward’s attitude in the 70th minute. After redirecting a high bouncing ball at midfield, Berube won it from four surrounding Red Storm defenders at the top of the penalty box. His struggle was rewarded with an additional BU possession-not to mention a couple more minutes off the clock.
‘I’m still surprised that we kept them off the board because they kept pounding on us,’ Henry said. ‘There’s no counter to speed, so I’m just surprised.’
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