The Boston University men’s soccer team, picked second in the America East preseason coaches’ poll, has a simple goal for its 2012 campaign: get into the NCAA Tournament.
It won’t be easy.
Due to the Terriers’ ban from the conference tournament – a punishment from America East because of BU’s move to the Patriot League next year – they can’t reach the promise land through an automatic bid. Instead, BU will play a rigorous nonconference schedule, including games against seven NCAA tourney teams from a year ago, in search for an at-large bid.
And, thus far, through just two games of that schedule, head coach Neil Roberts and the Terriers have played to mixed results.
The team fell 3-0 to No. 13 St. John’s University on Aug. 24 before bouncing back three days later with a 1-0 victory over No. 11 Boston College.
The win was a big one, but not just for BU’s RPI. It was the 500th win in the history of the men’s soccer program, and it was the first time BU shut out BC since 1998.
Junior midfielder Derek McCaffrey came through with a goal in the 55th minute to put BU on top while sophomore goaltender Nick Thomson made five saves to post the shutout.
And as the triumph over BC indicates, the Terriers do have quite a bit of talent, albeit having a roster that features just two seniors.
One of them is Michael Bustmante, who redshirted last season due to injury but should see a majority of time in the midfield now that he’s healthy. Through two games he has collected five shots, two of them on goal, and he is looking to build on his 23 career assists.
Behind him the Terriers only get stronger. Roberts’ crew returns the defending America East Defender of the Year, junior Kevin Madzongwe, as well as Thomson, who started 17 out of 18 games last year as a rookie.
Thomson’s presence could be especially important because it means that, for the first time since 2009, the Terriers will not have a freshman in net.
Most importantly, perhaps, the Terriers are also returning the 2011 America East Rookie of the Year, Dominique Badji, who had a team-high 13 points (five goals, three assists) last year. Now, with another season under his belt, the speedy forward looks primed to add to those tallies and give the offense a boost over its .94 goals per game average from last season.
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