Legends of the Fall: Previewing the 2011 season for BU fall teams

Men’s soccer

In many ways, 2010 was a season of great strides for the Boston University men’s soccer team, yet in other ways, though, it was a season of disappointment. After rolling over AE competition throughout October, the team fell 1-0 to University of New Hampshire in the AE semifinals, a sudden end to an otherwise dominant season.

Luckily for BU, many of the key components of last year’s team are back for this fall, including senior forward/midfielder and leading scorer Ben Berube. The team lost its second-leading scorer, Aaron O’Neal, to graduation, as well as senior midfielder and 2010 All-AE first team member Michael Bustamante, who will miss the entire season due to a leg injury.

Behind Berube, the Terriers will feature a pair of defenders who were instrumental in the Terriers .88 goals against average, in senior Colin Henry, who was named the AE Defender of the Year in 2010, and sophomore sweeper Kelvin Madzongwe, last year’s AE Rookie of the Year.

Henry and Madzongwe will be especially crucial because BU will be without last year’s starting goalie, Brandon Briggs, who transferred to Monmouth University. Two freshmen – Nick Thomson, redshirt Matt Daugherty – will hold down the fort in goal, though how the playing time will sort out is unclear.

Alongside the slew of strong players on field will be the man behind it all, head coach Neil Roberts. This season will be Roberts’ 27th at the helm and he will be looking to follow up on a season in which he and his assistants were awarded the AE Coaching Staff of the Year award, Roberts’ sixth such honor.

The team’s 17-game regular season schedule features an away game against nearby Harvard University on Sept. 28, a home game against Boston College on Oct. 18, and three home conference games throughout October. Although they all have equal importance in the standings, the most important of those games may be on Oct. 8 against University of Maryland-Baltimore County, last year’s AE conference tournament winner.
   -Tim Healey

Women’s Soccer

After a record-breaking 2010 season, the Boston University women’s soccer team looks to earn its fifth straight America East championship and its seventh straight NCAA berth this fall.

Last season, the Terriers broke several school records, including most wins and goals in a season. One of the most impressive records, however, was the 13 consecutive shutouts that BU dominated its opponents with for most of the season, a streak that carried the Terriers from the middle of September through to the AE championship

However, the streak came to an end in the first round of the NCAA tournament with a 2-1 loss against cross-town rival Boston College. The Terriers went 1,260 minutes and 38 seconds without giving up a goal during the streak, the second longest of its kind in NCAA history.

BU swept all of the major AE honors with current seniors Jessica Luscinski earning Striker of the Year and Alice Binns earning Goalkeeper of the Year, as well as with current sophomore Kelly King earning Rookie of the Year. Shauna Kelleher and Corie Halasz were awarded Midfielder of the Year and Defender of the Year, respectively, in their final season with the Terriers.

The Terriers have lost three of their strongest players from last year after graduating Kelleher and Halasz, along with graduate student Lisa Kevorkian. Kevorkian led the team in goals with 14 and was tied for second on the team in assists with seven during her lone year at BU.

Nonetheless, the team is returning three AE leaders in Luscinski, who was second on the team in goals with 12; Binns, who had a .884 save percentage in net; and King, who ended the year with a 13-2 record in goal. BU has also added nine freshmen to the team.

Coaching the team for her 18th season is Nancy Feldman. During her time at BU, the team has won eight AE titles and had nine NCAA appearances.
   -Meredith Perri

Field Hockey

After finishing last season 10-8, the Boston University field hockey team is ready to take on the grinding challenges of the 2011 season.

Seven of the Terriers’ opponents qualified for last year’s NCAA Tournament, among them NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference champion University of Maryland. Also included in the mix are fellow 2010 NCAA teams University at Albany, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts, University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Syracuse University.

Losing just three seniors, the Terriers more than make up for that with returning players in every class. Senior forward Andrea Greene, a former member of Chile’s junior national team, returns for her second year after finishing with a team-high 13 goals and 29 points in 2010.

Junior back Jacinda McLeod returns after a great year in which she was awarded the America East Conference Defensive Player of the Year, a role that did not inhibit in her from earning 16 points, with six goals and four assists. Fellow junior Nicole van Oosterom, last year’s America East Midfielder of the Year, also returns to aid the BU offense. Along with returning players, BU added four new players, including junior transfer Tabi Hatch, who led Towson University with 18 points and seven goals in 2010. Adding to the forward/mid line are freshmen Kiah Murphy, Lyndsie Rabenius and Chrissy Toomey.

Returning to the team is head coach Sally Starr, who led the Terriers to the AE semifinals where they lost to Albany 2-1 last season. Starr returns to a team she has led to eight AE championship wins.

In addition to new players, the Terriers will be changing locations for practices and games this season. BU will now practice and play four home games at Harvard University’s Jordan Field and the remaining three home games will be played at Boston College’s Newton Campus Field. The Terriers begin their season Aug. 20 at 1 p.m. against Connecticut at Newton Campus Field.
  -Samantha Wood