High five

Much of what has come to define the current win streak for the Boston University men’s soccer team &- timely scoring from junior forward Ben Berube, stingy defense and quality playmaking in the midfield &- was on full display Wednesday night at Nickerson Field as the Terriers took down the University of Vermont 2-0.

The Terriers’ (8-3-1, 3-0-0 America East) win over the Catamounts (6-5-3, 1-2-0 AE) not only brought the team’s season-high win streak to five games, but it also kept BU undefeated in conference play through three games.

Berube and senior forward Aaron O’Neal each scored for BU, keeping them tied for the team lead in goals with six apiece, and junior striker Stephen Knox provided the assists on both of the goals.

After applying early pressure on the Catamount defense to the tune of a 10-1 shot advantage in the first half, the Terrier offense finally broke the scoreless deadlock with a Berube goal from a Knox cross to put BU up 1-0 in the 54th minute of the match.

The goal was Berube’s sixth in the past five matches, all of them wins. Additionally, Berube has scored the past five game-winning goals for the Terriers.

“I’m staying hungry,” Berube said. “Just because I scored one game doesn’t mean anything. I’ve still got to be working hard.”

Six minutes later, O’Neal followed suit by firing a left-footed shot from about 20 yards out that made its way to the netting to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead with 30 minutes left in the match.

“It was a great finish that he had, and that’s what Aaron’s capable of doing,” said BU coach Neil Roberts.

The Terrier defense again proved to be critical to the team’s success in conference play. Last night marked the third shutout that BU has recorded in the past five games. In this win streak, the Terriers have only allowed two goals compared to the 11 they have put on the board.

Roberts noted the defensive play of junior Colin Henry, freshman Kelvin Madzongwe and redshirt freshman Max White as particularly crucial in holding forward Nick O’Neill and the Catamount attack scoreless.

The Terrier defenders, however, acknowledge that the team’s offensive surge behind the likes of Berube has taken some pressure off of a line that is coming into its own.

“The past few games they’ve been playing very well, so that takes the pressure off of us,” Madzongwe said.

In net, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brandon Briggs’ four saves led to his fifth shutout of the season. His goals-against average now stands at an even 1.00, having fallen drastically from the 1.43 GAA he posted before this winning streak.

“Briggs has got confidence for sure,” Roberts said. “He’s doing well. That was a very difficult game for a young goalkeeper.”

But what stood out to much of the team was not the goals or the defensive effort, but the playmaking ability of Knox, whose two assists now put him in a tie for the team lead.

For Roberts, the playmaking ability of Knox has been critical to BU’s success, not just in the Vermont game but throughout the entire season.

“You can’t underestimate what Knox is doing out there,” he said. “He’s really causing some problems, and if we can get that going on the left side as well, we could be real dangerous.”

However, for Knox, his hand in the Terriers’ recent success has boiled down to something much simpler.

“I just try to do my part on the team,” he said. “I don’t think it’s anything special. I just do my part so the team can be successful.”

The win over Vermont keeps BU alone in first place in the AE standings with a 3-0 record and nine points with a Friday game at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County looming.

But for the Terriers, the undefeated start in conference play has been a relief for a team that saw its NCAA tournament hopes disintegrate in AE play last season. The key now is to maintain the success and momentum that their winning streak has afforded them.

“This year we’ve come out hard, come out strong and took everything we learned in practice into the game,” Knox said. “We just want to continue winning.”