With a 10th America East regular-season title and home-field advantage throughout the conference tournament now firmly in place, the Boston University men’s soccer team looks to end its season on an emphatic note as it takes on the University at Albany on Saturday at Nickerson Field.
As the final home game of the season, it is also Senior Day as BU will honor the careers and accomplishments of its six seniors: midfielder Ben Havey, forward Temi Akinsanya, forward Aaron O’Neal, midfielder Ryan Shea, defender Matthew Shea and midfielder Jack Orr.
The group of six seniors has helped BU go 41-24-10 in their four years, a span that includes two regular-season conference titles, two conference tournament titles and two NCAA tournament appearances, with the remaining possibility of adding to the latter two statistics.
The Terriers (10-4-1, 5-1 AE) clinched the regular-season title by rebounding from an overtime loss against the University of New Hampshire with a thorough dismantling of Binghamton University to the tune of a 4-0 victory.
The win not only gave the Terriers a first-round bye in the conference tournament by virtue of a top seed, but it also helped kick-start a BU attack that stalled against UNH and failed to capitalize on its opportunities.
A big component of this offensive resurgence was the playmaking ability of junior midfielder Michael Bustamante, who notched two assists against the Bearcats, continuing his rejuvenation in midfield after a disappointing first half of the season.
“I always look at Michael as a special player, where he can do a lot of things that other players can’t do,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “He’s been trying to change things in his game this year and it’s probably made it a little more difficult for him than it needed to be.
“We need Michael to be Michael and to do what he does, and I think the last two games we’ve seen that. We’ve seen that with that little gleam in his eye, taking people on and hitting some beautiful balls for people to score on and that’s the gift that Michael has.”
The Terriers now face an Albany team that occupies, along with the University of Vermont, the proverbial cellar of the conference standings. The Great Danes (5-9-1, 1-4-1) have struggled throughout the second half of the season and have just one win in their last nine matches after a 4-2 start.
Albany struggled mightily on both the offensive and defensive ends over that nine-game span, having been outscored by a total of 16-6.
However, the Great Danes are still technically in contention for the final spot in the conference tournament, meaning even those faintest playoff hopes will motivate an already-tenacious team to fight to play into November.
“They’re a very aggressive team and sometimes they’re an emotional team, so we have to be able to keep our composure and just play,” Roberts said. “There’s a lot at stake for them. They need to win this game to have any chance at continuing their season.”
Despite having the top seed in the conference tournament locked up, the Terriers will not be sitting any normal starters or deviating from their usual game-plan.
BU is still very much so in the hunt for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament with an impressive overall record and an RPI ranking of 34. This reality puts added pressure on the Terriers, even in an Albany game that casual observers may consider moot.
“We’re still in the hunt in the national picture, so we don’t want to drop in that,” Roberts said. “Good teams always have two ways of getting into the tournament.”
BU coaches and players alike are aware that there is more at stake in Saturday’s game than most people might realize.
In this crucial stretch, the Terriers will take each game going forward as an opportunity to improve and build upon what they started months ago &- meaning that even a struggling team like Albany cannot be overlooked.
“You look at the teams that we want to be, and they deal with these things. There’s a consistency in their play,” Roberts said. “I’ll be honest and say there’s not that much consistency in our play yet, and that’s what we’re striving to get. This is a good test to see where we’re at as a team.”
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