The Boston University men’s soccer team’s 4-0-0 record in its first four conference games is impressive in itself. But in light of the way the Terriers fared last year in America East conference play, their undefeated start gives them even more cause for optimism.
Last year, BU went 6-2-2 before conference play. It then dropped four of their last seven games to finish 9-6-2 overall and 3-4 in AE before losing in the first round of the conference tournament to the University of Hartford to cap off a disappointing season.
In that stretch, the Terriers lost to University of New Hampshire, University of Hartford, Binghamton University and University of Maryland-Baltimore County. In 2010, they have already defeated UMBC and Hartford, and will face UNH &- owners of an 0-2-2 conference record &- this Saturday.
The Terriers will play Binghamton, the only other team that has not yet lost in conference at 2-0-2, on Oct. 27 having already guaranteed a better conference mark than the one they finished with last season.
“It was important for us,” Roberts said of the 4-0-0 start to AE play. “We didn’t do well in conference last year. We really had a good start and the key for us is always to keep improving and be better at the end of the season than at the beginning, and we didn’t do that last year.”
AE leaders
During their six-game winning streak, the Terriers scored 13 goals &- more than half of their season total of 23. Their prolific offense has them leading the conference in shots per game (16.38, almost three full shots higher than second-place University of Vermont’s 13.67) and second to UMBC in goals per game with 1.77.
Junior forward Ben Berube, who leads AE in shots with 45, trails only UMBC forward Levi Houapeu in points and points per game, with 16 and 1.23, respectively. He and senior forward Aaron O’Neal are also part of a five-way tie for second in goals, with six apiece.
Though he may be flying under the radar more than O’Neal and Berube, junior forward/midfielder Stephen Knox is also putting up noteworthy numbers in the assists category. Knox is tied for second in assists with five, behind only UMBC forward and 2009 AE Striker of the Year Andrew Bulls.
On the back half of the field, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brandon Briggs ranks second in the conference with a 0.93 goals-against average. However, he only ranks fifth in saves, with 37 in 13 starts, a testament to the fact that the Terrier defense has been effective in limiting opponents’ scoring opportunities. Likewise, BU’s conference-leading six shutouts are credited to Briggs, but, in lieu of other defensive statistics, are just as reflective of the improvement in their team defense this year.
Televised games
Friday’s match against UMBC was the third time in the last two years that BU has been featured on the Fox Soccer Channel. It was the first time it has won on national television, as they suffered a 2-1 loss to Binghamton and a 1-0 loss to Boston College in their College Soccer Games of the Week last season.
In Baltimore on Friday, 2,781 fans turned up for the match. BU drew 1,907 to Nickerson Field against BC on Sept. 18, 2009 &- more than double the season average of 501, but nowhere near the record crowd of 5,935 that turned up for the Terriers’ season opener against the University of Massachusetts in 2008. That number remains the record both for BU and for college soccer in Massachusetts.
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