If you were to take a look at the Boston University men’s soccer team’s schedule as of late, you would probably think the Terriers relocated to Rhode Island.
Last weekend, the Terriers (4-5-0) captured the Lighthouse Inn/Kappa Classic title at Kingston, R.I. with two wins in two days. But this past Saturday, they played host to the University of Rhode Island, losing 3-1 in their first home game in more than three weeks.
Well, the Ocean State beckons to the team once again as BU travels to Providence today to take on No. 15 Brown University at Stevenson Field in the Terriers’ final non-conference game before the team opens its America East schedule on Oct. 4.
Despite the Saturday loss to the Rams, the Terriers have won four of their last six games, with all of the victories coming on the road. And while BU assistant coach Andy Fleming acknowledged that the conference is the team’s number one priority this season, no one on the BU sideline is looking past Brown.
‘We are taking one game at a time,’ Fleming said. ‘Obviously, the conference is our ticket to the NCAA [Tournament] … but the mentality you have to have as an athlete is every time you step on the field, you have to try to get a result and play at a high level.’
The Bears (4-2-0) have won six of the last nine Ivy League titles, and while they suffered through injuries last season, they sport a healthy lineup with an aggressive offensive attack this year.
Senior forward and captain Adom Crew leads the way with three goals two of those being game winners and two assists on the season. Crew finished with 10 goals (tied for most in the league) and 22 points (second in the league) last fall, but the Maryland-native only played in eight games before an injury sidelined him for the latter half of the season. Despite the limited playing time, he was still named to the All-Ivy League Second Team and All-New England Third Team.
Junior forward Marcos Romaneiro (two goals and three assists) and senior midfielder Matt Goldman (two goals and no assists) add to Brown’s scoring punch with a combined 11 points on the season.
‘They are very fast, very athletic and a very direct team,’ Fleming said. ‘They don’t spend a lot of time possessing the ball and picking you apart. They kind of go right at you.’
That type of accelerated attack can mean problems for a depleted Terrier defense. On Saturday, one of BU’s more vocal leaders, senior back Michael Feely, went down with a knee injury and will not play in today’s game. The team is still waiting to see how severe the injury is, Fleming said.
‘With him being as valuable as he is … and him really being the leader of the team thus far, we are really keeping our fingers crossed for him,’ Fleming said. ‘We just have to get some more vocal leadership from people like [senior back] Erik Evjen and [freshman back] Zack Kirby.’
To counter the Brown offense, Fleming said the team will look to slow the game’s tempo with good ball control. And even with Feely out, the team has a number of solid defenders in senior Karl Ruegemer, sophomore Matt Cross and senior Jon Martin, who Fleming believes are up to the challenge of stopping Adom Crew and company.
Behind the back line, sophomore goalkeeper Chad Comroe will look to do his part in keeping the Bears off the scoreboard. Comroe has won his last three starts dating back to Sept. 6 to lower his goals-against average to 0.97. He also has 14 saves on the year.
BU senior captain Andrew Dorman said he believes a win against Brown is very possible. But with Saturday’s loss, he said the team will have to put that extra effort in to get back on the right track.
‘We want to get a good win in before the conference starts,’ Dorman said. ‘We have a lot of work ahead of us. Hopefully it will be worth it.’
Putting records and conferences aside, however, Fleming said a win against Brown would not only ‘answer a lot of questions’ for BU, but it would serve as a major confidence booster for a team looking to gain momentum as it heads into the last part of its season.
‘With them being a regional opponent and with them being nationally ranked, it would definitely be a feather in our cap to beat them,’ Fleming said.
But until the Terriers can pull off the upset, let’s just call it macaroni.