Contributions from unlikely sources, while welcome, cannot be expected. The same cannot be said for Neil Hlavaty, Jin Oh and Petur Sigurdsson, who as proven commodities in the collegiate soccer realm, must score for the Boston University men’s soccer team to be successful.
All three of the juniors earned a point during a two-goal first half in Friday’s tilt against the University of Rhode Island, pushing the Terriers to a 2-0 victory over the slumping Rams at the URI Soccer Complex in Kingston, R.I.
BU (4-3-0) plays two more non-conference affairs – road contests against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Brown University – before opening America East action Oct. 6 at Binghamton University.
‘I was very pleased,’ said BU coach Neil Roberts. ‘I think it was the closest game to a complete game we played all year. [URI’s] record doesn’t indicate the type of team they are. It was a good win. It ranks high [among this year’s victories] because I think it was the best game we played from start to finish.’
The Rams (1-5-0) outshot the Terriers, 13-10, with six of their attempts coming in the second half.
‘I thought it was evenly matched,’ Roberts said. ‘They were a good team. They were very smart. I wouldn’t call it aggressive, but we attacked them and attacked the spaces. It was a combined effort of the whole group.
‘We did exactly what we wanted to do,’ he continued. ‘We controlled the pace of the game and had a purpose to our play, which is good to see from a young team. We exploited space. We hit the bar twice and post once, and created a number of very good scoring chances.’
The Rams, picked as the preseason favorite in the Atlantic-10 Conference, had no answer for sophomore goalkeeper Hrafn Davidsson, who collected five saves to notch his second shutout of the season.
‘Hrafn played all right,’ Roberts said. ‘There were a couple of miscommunications within the back, but overall it was solid. The whole team played really well in front of him. We were much better defensively. Giving up 10 total free kicks was a big key for us. We managed the game very well.’
Sigurdsson, who had not scored since an impressive two-goal effort against Northeastern University on Sept. 3, headed home a pass from Oh at 30:15 for the eventual game-winner.
‘The first ball was played into [redshirt sophomore] Shaun [Taylor],’ Roberts said. ‘He checked out and opened up space. Jin had a good service in to Petur, who headed it in.’
Hlavaty, who fired off a game-high four shots, followed suit at 44:35, lacing a free kick past URI keeper Chris Pennock for the midfielder’s second goal in as many games.
Sophomores Taylor and Samuel Appiah and freshman Matt Shea combined for five shot attempts against Pennock, who finished with two saves.
Through seven games, 12 Terriers have earned at least one point – a tribute to the squad’s deep offensive arsenal comprised of established veterans and gifted newcomers.
Taylor, one of BU’s breakout players, has had nine shot attempts on the season, second only to Hlavaty (15) for the team lead. The England native posted six total shots during his rookie campaign.
‘Shaun is helping because he’s able to be a presence up front,’ Roberts said. ‘He’s making sure teams have to be concerned with him.’
Individual accomplishments aside, the Terrier offense thrives on its ability to receive production from a variety of sources.
‘I think we’re going to be a team that isn’t going to see one guy dominate,’ Roberts said. ‘We’re creating better chances and the guys are unselfish. Whoever seems to be in there is doing that for us.’
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