Conversation in the press box pre-game suggested the possibility of a let down after the No. 14 Boston University men’s soccer team’s program-building triumph over then-No. 12 University of Connecticut on Saturday.
But as the final minutes elapsed in Monday night’s 3-0 home-opening win against Providence College, it was clear: the idea of a ‘letdown game’ had never entered any players’ minds. Their confident play demonstrated perfect continuity in their mental outlook from the last game to this one.
‘We wanted to come out and show that the UConn win was no fluke,’ sophomore midfielder Michael Bustamante said. ‘We wanted to show that we beat UConn at UConn, and we can do the same thing to any team in the country.’
Senior forward Samuel Appiah put the Terriers ahead in the 18th minute on a play that exemplified the assured spirit Bustamante described.
After receiving a pass from sophomore midfielder Ben Berube at the front-left corner of the 18-foot mark, Appiah bluffed a pass to the middle before making an aggressive burst to the goal through three Providence defenders. Upon finding all three flat-footed, he fired a shot to the back-right corner for his first goal of the season.
The Terriers scored again in the 23rd minute when Bustamante set up junior forward Aaron O’Neal for his 3rd goal of the season on an acrobatic play in the left corner. Bustamante ran a step past the ball and then blindly relayed it backwards with his heel to the middle of the box.
To fans, it looked as if Bustamante had eyes in the back of his head. But Bustamante had a simpler explanation.
‘I heard him call my name,’ he said.
O’Neal helped answer a more pressing question in the 77th minute: could the Terriers replace the scoring of injured senior co-captain Shaun Taylor?
With a goal to put the Terriers up 3-0, the answer was an emphatic, yes.
O’Neal’s four goals this season through three games already match his total from last season.
Taylor, who led last year’s team in goals with nine, hurt his foot in the win over UConn, and is expected to miss a couple games.
‘Injuries are just a part of it,’ BU coach Neil Roberts said. ‘We think that we can compete with these teams because we do have depth. Just like we knew we could use some subs in the UConn game to give players a rest for today.’
O’Neal allowed those players who did sit late in the UConn game to rest easy. His goals in the 85th and 89th minutes padded BU’s first victory over a team ranked as highly as No. 12 since it beat the University of San Diego in 2002.
His outburst has been a welcome sight after a University of Massachusetts-Amherst game characterized by missed chances ended in a disappointing 1-1 tie.
‘There hasn’t really been a lot of difference from the UMass game,’ Roberts said. ‘We’re just doing it better. We could have had four goals in the UMass game.’
According to Roberts, that’s just soccer. There are some things you can’t control. But solid play from the midfield and defense can help put you in better position.
With the emergence of midfielder Ben Berube, along with the ever-present threat of Michael Bustamente’s speed, agility and ball control, teams have a hard time covering both sides of the middle.
It’s that kind of constant pressure that held off Providence’s first real threat on goal to the 51st minute.
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