By 8 p.m. Saturday night, there was no doubt – the No. 15/16 Boston University men’s soccer team is the team to beat in America East.
While the Terriers rested inside the Case Gymnasium locker room with a 3-0 halftime lead in their America East opener versus Stony Brook University, news broke their leading competitor, the undefeated University of Maryland-Baltimore County, had dropped its own AE opener, 3-1, to the University of Vermont, ranked No. 7 in the Daily Free Press power rankings.
The juxtaposition of BU’s dominance and UMBC’s disappointment was revealing of the strength of the Terriers’ non-conference schedule. The well-tested Terriers faced three ranked teams and went 2-0-1 in those games, while the Retrievers faced none. After toying with the likes of the St. Francis University, Mount St. Mary’s University and Towson University, UMBC found the start of conference play startlingly austere.
‘ ‘We ended the game in the first half,’ BU coach Neil Roberts said. ‘I’m not even sure our goalie had any action all night.’
Roberts was right – Stony Brook couldn’t manage even one shot on goal. Senior goalkeeper Hrafn Davidsson received his first break of the season with 14 minutes left, allowing freshman goalkeeper Trevor McManamon his Terrier debut.
But Roberts was quick to point out how important it was for his team to start off the conference schedule on the right foot.
‘It’s huge,’ Roberts said. ‘We want to get our three points and move on. We have to be cleaner but it’s a good start.’
Last year, BU dropped its league-opener 3-0 at home to the University at Albany, but recovered to go undefeated the rest of the way en route to an America East Tournament championship.
‘It’s a good feeling to start the conference with our first win,’ senior midfielder Samuel Appiah told GoTerriers.com. ‘Last year we lost 3-0, so it’s kind of a good feeling, not like last year.
The co-captain had the biggest hand in making sure history didn’t repeat itself.
At the 21st minute, Appiah hauled in sophomore midfielder Ben Berube’s right side corner seven yards beyond the center of the 18-yard box and fired a laser to the right of Stony Brook goalkeeper Stefan Manz.
Just as the ball passed the goalie box, it knuckled slightly to the left, past Manz’s out-stretched hands and into the back of the net.
‘It’s something I’ve been working on like every practice,’ Appiah said. ‘It’s all about technique, how you position yourself, receive the ball and follow through, not about how hard you strike it.’
Appiah put on an encore three minutes later in the 24th minute.
Junior forward Aaron O’Neal, from just inside the right side of the 18-yard box, relayed a pass parallel to an open space on the left. Appiah, moving into the offensive zone, jogged to the ball and struck it on-the-run back across the field to the right corner of the net, where the ball glanced off the hands of Manz and in.
Fellow midfielder Michael Bustamante helped add an insurance goal with a brilliant play in the 42nd minute.
After corralling a loose ball at the top of the 18-foot box, the sophomore held control amongst a swarm of five Stony Brook defenders, before slipping an entrance pass to streaking freshman forward Nick Prunier, just steps in front of a charging Manz.
Prunier out-raced Manz to the ball and used his first touch to push the ball inches away from Manz’s left foot. With just the net in front of him, Prunier had an inviting eight foot, eight yard target to shoot on for his first career goal.
‘Every team’s going to be different ‘-‘- some teams defend better, some teams attack better,’ Roberts said. ‘You just take it one game at a time.’
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