This year’s freshman class of the men’s soccer team features players with a world of talent. Coach Neil Roberts has added speed and technique to an already talented Terrier squad.
By integrating the new forwards and midfielders into the rotation, Roberts hopes to see improved results.
After undergoing surgery last year for a preseason injury, Temi Akinsanya returns to the team as a redshirt freshman. Akinsanya will join Matt Pereira and Stephen Knox to supply depth to the Terrier frontline. Akinsanya, who played varsity soccer all four years in high school and captained his team for two years, was a major contributor in the Terriers’ most recent game, a scoreless draw last weekend at No. 3 University of Connecticut.
Pereira is also trying to settle into the Terrier offense. After captaining his team and claiming the Middlesex League MVP award his senior year, he hopes to continue his development with the Terriers. Knox brings speed and talent to BU after starting in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, scoring 21 goals for the Trinidad and Tobago U-17 National team.
Roberts has filled his midfield holes with athletic players who are very strong fundamentally. Michael Bustamante and Ben Berube have started all three of BU’s games this season and have already begun to make their mark. While traditionally a back, Berube has the speed and ability Roberts desires in the midfield.
“His quickness and his ability to take people on are essential,” Roberts said.
Berube already has one of the Terriers’ three goals this season. Bustamante, on the other hand, is taking on an important role as the attacking center midfielder.
“There’s a lot of responsibility that goes along with that position,” Roberts said. “The attack is going to go through you. You’ve got to find people, you’ve got to create things, you’ve got to unsettle defenses.”
Another redshirt freshman, Ryan Shea, is also joining the ranks in the midfield. After co-captaining his varsity team his senior year and being named to the All-State team, Ryan hopes to join his brother, Matt Shea, as a staple for the Terriers.
Paul King also enters the fray this year and is already beginning to earn playing time. King, a central midfielder for the Northern Ireland U-17 team, already has four shots (two on goal) this season.
Terence Ciavarra, Peter Mehlert and Nicolas Ampuero also join the Terrier frontline and hope to add another championship to their resumes after winning numerous titles with their former teams. Ciavarra, two-year captain of Juventus USA, led his team to the Massachusetts state championship as a junior, while Mehlert lead his Potomac Cougars to an Adidas Disney Showcase Predator Championship as a junior. Ampuero was part of the Bassano Virtus 55 team that won a regional championship in his home country of Italy.
Although he’s listed as a midfielder, Colin Henry has been playing in the backfield and is performing admirably.
“[He] played extremely well against Boston College,” Roberts said. “He marked one of the better wide players in the country and the ACC and the kid didn’t get a sniff at goal.”
Aaron Rosenberg can also play defense for the Terriers. Rosenberg was a three-year captain of his high school team and was named an All-State selection as a senior and All-State honorable mention as a junior.
The Terriers brought in two new goalkeepers to prepare for next season when senior Hrafn Davidsson will be gone. Both George Drouillard and Trevor McManamon captained their respective teams to championships. Drouillard’s team won the Massachusetts state championship, while McManamon led his senior year squad to a CCS Division I title.
Roberts is eager to watch the freshmen improve and incorporate themselves into a certain style of play for the Terriers.
“It’s a good core group of young players,” Roberts said. “It’s a group of kids that we’re bringing in that can show us the style we want to play and continue to bring in. We’re putting something in place that hopefully we can keep for years to come.
“But with freshmen, you just take it a day at a time and see how they adjust to that game, that training session, to anything that goes on. They’re talented players, so we’re happy for them and we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”