It would be hard to come by more positives than an undefeated record, a top spot in America East standings and two conference players of the week. But tonight at 7 p.m, the No. 19 Boston University Men’s Soccer team hosts Brown University, a team previously ranked 17th in the nation, with its eyes set on still improving.
Plus, the streaking Terriers have the chance to continue their rise to national prominence with a win tonight.
“You’ve got to earn your goals against them,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “They have the same team from last year. They’re fast up front and very good defensively.”
Last year, the Bears went 11-5-2 en route to a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, finally losing to a top-seeded Maryland team. This year it was a third-ranked team that knocked Brown out of the national rankings. Southern Methodist University’s 5-1 victory over Brown earned them the top spot in the NSCAA poll.
Now, the Bears are hungry to get back in the minds of poll voters, and a win over the undefeated Terriers would do just that.
“They want a shutout every game,” Roberts said. “The confidence is there on defense, we gotta have that up the field.”
Co-captain Zach Riffett leads the defense, which recorded three shutouts in a row before allowing a goal to Pennsylvania State last weekend. Riffett was named America East Conference Player of the Week after stopping 18 shots in two games against powerhouses Ohio State University and Penn State University. In nine games, Riffett has allowed just five balls to reach the back of the net, good for a .917 save percentage. Riffett probably wouldn’t mind a few less shots on goal however, many of which came from cheap fouls resulting in corner kicks.
“We’ve committed way too many fouls,” Roberts said. “We gotta really get better at that. Brown is very good at set plays.”
Despite the winning record against such strong teams, Roberts was far from satisfied with the play of BU, saying that against Penn St. they were forced to play the Lions’ game. Despite the Lions aggressiveness, the Terriers refused to throw in the towel, taking the game into double overtime.
“We were bending but we wouldn’t break,” Roberts said. “I was impressed with our fight. We know we’re going to play better.”
Judging from the way they have progressed so far this season, the Terriers should have taken care of any holes in their game that needed filling.
“It’s early yet, but you could see them getting better from the first exhibition to the second exhibition to the third,” Roberts said. “You have to train well, and they come out every day.”
Two more Terriers from last weekend’s Nike Classic, which featured four teams who have spent time in the Top 25, joined Riffett on the all tournament team-junior Derek Puerta and senior Steven Gahl. Sophomore Petur Sigurdsson took America East player of the week honors just a week prior to Riffett. With so many players on the team earning accolades, Roberts was able to focus on Thursday’s game plan and how best to exploit the Bears weaknesses.
“We had to figure out how we were going to play,” Roberts said. “They have the responsibility to help make it work.”
Thursday is the first game of a three game home stand. The Terriers face Cornell University Sunday and the University of Rhode Island Wednesday, but they can’t afford to look too far ahead with so much at risk tonight.
“Hopefully they can keep it going, and I think they will,” Roberts said.