Following a 1-1 tie at Bucknell University on Saturday afternoon, the Boston University men’s soccer team will again look for its first road victory of the year with a nonconference matchup at Harvard University Tuesday night.
The Terriers (3-2-1, 0-0-1 Patriot League) will be playing their third game against an Ivy League opponent when they face the Crimson (3-3-1), and BU head coach Neil Roberts said he knows it will be a close contest.
“They’re a talented team,” Roberts said. “They’re still trying to find themselves like we are, but they have some talent in the midfield with the left midfielder and center midfielder so they’re an interesting team.”
In its last matchup with Harvard, BU shut out the Crimson 3-0 on Sept. 24 of last year, thanks in part to junior midfielder Anthony Viteri.
The Terriers’ hopes to snap their away-game winless streak are high, particularly given their improved play against the Bison (2-5-2, 0-0-1 Patriot League) on Saturday. BU held Bucknell scoreless for the first 47 minutes before the latter broke the scoreless deadlock.
It was Viteri’s game-tying goal in the 74th minute that prevented what could have been the Terriers’ third road loss in as many games.
BU will look to continue this strong defensive play against Harvard, a team that has only mustered 1.14 goals per game, a statistic that matches up almost identically with BU’s goals against average of 1.17.
Senior goalkeeper Matt Gilbert has been exceptional so far for BU, posting the second-best goals against average in the conference. Roberts had high praise for the 2015 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year, and his contributions to the team.
“Matt’s been consistent for us over the last two years and he’s become one of our leaders,” Roberts said. “He’s one of the better goalkeepers in the country.”
When facing the Crimson, Gilbert and the rest of the Terrier defense will need to focus their efforts on senior Jake Freeman and freshman Matthew Glass, who have combined for four of Harvard’s eight goals, and 13 of its 25 points.
From an offensive perspective, the Terriers will look to Viteri to continue his offensive tear. The Flushing, New York native has found the back of the net five times thus far, making him the team’s leading scorer and one of the top scorers in the league.
The tri-captain also leads the Patriot League in points per game with 1.83. Senior forward Felix De Bona, fellow captain, has also been keeping defenders on their toes, averaging just under four shots per game, and netting two goals thus far.
Roberts noted that despite the tie to the Bison, his team can build on Saturday’s effort when it takes on Harvard.
“I think that they knew that they let some points get away in the Bucknell game,” Roberts said. “That’s the only thing right now is just being a little bit consistent. When you’re able to go on the road and dictate the game as much as we did in the second half and in the overtime I think that shows that we’re a pretty serious team.”
