Off on the right foot

Beginning America East conference play on the road, the Boston University men’s soccer team defeated Stony Brook University 2-1 last Saturday.

Junior midfielder Ben Berube and senior forward Aaron O’Neal provided the scoring for the Terriers (6-3-1, 1-0-0 AE), snapping the Seawolves’ (6-5-1, 0-1-0) six-game unbeaten streak in the process.

“I thought it was one of our better performances,” said BU coach Neil Roberts.

BU came out strong, outshooting Stony Brook 14-5 in the first half, yet all the early pressure failed to produce a goal as the teams entered the half in a scoreless deadlock.

About 15 minutes into the second half, however, the Terriers broke through when O’Neal finished off a cross from junior striker Stephen Knox, slipping a ball inside the near post to give his team a lead they would ultimately not surrender.

The goal was O’Neal’s team-leading fifth of the season.

Minutes later, Berube finished off a BU counter-attack by putting the ball past Stony Brook keeper Stefan Manz from about 15 yards out to put the Terriers up 2-0.

Berube, the reigning AE Player of the Week, has now recorded all four of his goals this season in the past three matches. Much of this can be credited to a move from his traditional spot in the outside midfield to the front line of the Terrier attack.

“He gives us a different direction,” Roberts said. “He’s very quick and explosive, and he can take people one-on-one, so he kind of complements Aaron (O’Neal) a little bit.”

The Terrier offense has now registered an average of 2.33 goals per game during the team’s current three-game win streak.

With BU holding onto a 2-0 lead with just over 20 minutes left in the match, the Stony Brook offense began to display a greater sense of urgency, attempting eight shots in the period that played a large part in the Seawolves’ 11-4 advantage in shots in the second half.

“We didn’t defend as well as we should have, and we dropped back a little bit too deep,” Roberts said. “It just kept things a little hectic.”

However, the elevated Stony Brook attack did not produce a goal for the majority of the half. Seawolves midfielder Leonardo Fernandes, the defending AE Rookie of the Year, eventually put his team on the board when he buried a penalty kick with five seconds left to produce the game’s final result.

The BU defense proved to be a critical factor in the match by allowing just six shots on goal, helping to start the counter-attack that culminated in the Berube goal and only giving up the single goal off of a set play.

“They are a very good attacking team, so I thought we did a good job of limiting their chances and creating some pretty good chances ourselves,” said Roberts.

Equally important was the play of redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brandon Briggs, who finished the day with five saves and helped the Terriers withstand the charge from the Stony Brook offense late in the second half.

“He controlled things pretty well, made two very good saves and then kept everything else clean and simple,” Roberts said. “He’s still learning and he doesn’t have a lot of experience, but it looks like he’s going to be a very good goalkeeper.”

Between the efforts of the BU defense in preventing opportunities and Briggs’s play in net, the Terriers have only given up an average of 0.67 goals per game in the past three games.

The win over the defending conference champions is particularly meaningful for a BU team looking to improve upon its 3-4 mark in AE play last season.

“In our conference, it’s very difficult to win games on the road against good teams,” Roberts said. “So we were fortunate to be able to pick up the three points against a very good team.”