To start off its October slate, the Boston University men’s soccer team will head down to our nation’s capital Saturday to take on American University.
American (6-3-1, 0-1 Patriot League) has dealt with some crucial blows in the last week. On Saturday, the Eagles, ranked No. 19 in the nation at the time, were stunned in their Patriot League opener against Colgate University, as Colgate junior Ethan Kutler scored two unanswered goals in the second half. Then, on Tuesday, the Eagles tied Princeton University 1-1 in a nationally televised game.
The Eagles are winless since Sept. 18, but the Terriers will not underestimate them. Scoring 2.40 goals per game, not only is American the league-leading offense by almost a whole goal, they are also tied for seventh with Clemson University among the most potent offenses in the country.
One of the Eagles’ secrets to success: they shoot. A lot. They average 17.2 shots per game and are one game removed from an outing in which they doubled their opponent’s shot attempts, but still had to settle for a tie.
Pinpointing American’s biggest offensive threat is a challenge. Forwards Joel Hart and Vinny Barone have been deadly for the Eagles with four goals and three goals, respectively. However, eight other Eagles have found the net this season, including senior Liam Robley, who led the team in goals last season.
“Obviously on the road you have to be a little conservative,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “They were last year. They got some injuries late last year that slowed them down but they’re athletic, they’ve got good technique. They’re a good team. The first half of the season, the non-conference season, they’ve probably been playing the best in the conference, so it’ll definitely be a challenge.”
The Terrier defense held Bucknell University, the Patriot League’s second best offense, to just nine shots Sunday. For the season, BU allows one goal per game.
On Saturday, Roberts will look to guys like junior goalkeeper Matt Gilbert, who recorded his third shutout of the season against the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Wednesday, and senior defender Jeroen Blugh to protect against American’s multifaceted attack.
While American has struggled recently, the Terriers are unbeaten in their last three games. Towards the beginning of the season, both sophomore midfielder Anthony Viteri and junior forward Felix De Bona stole the show as the duo combined for four of the BU’s first five goals of the season. However, recently, the offense has begun to get goals from other contributors.
Since the Terriers’ Sept. 8 game against Siena College, De Bona has been held without a goal, but no one would say he’s struggling. He has constantly played in and around the box, linking up play and threatening to strike.
In BU’s last four games, four different Terriers have scored their first goals of the season. Sophomore midfielder David Amirani had the decisive blow against Lowell (5-4), Blugh tallied a miraculous headed goal against Bucknell (3-3-3, 0-0-1 Patriot League), senior forward Lucas McBride notched the Terriers’ third goal against Harvard University and junior forward Mark Wadid scored the only goal against Princeton (3-2-1).
With the offense starting to get production from multiple sources and Gilbert and Blugh leading the defense, Saturday’s contest against American will test the Terriers on all fronts.
“We feel that we’re pretty balanced,” Roberts said. “Our big concern still, it’s not a concern, but the thing we’ve been working on the most is we’re still trying to get better play from the flanks.”
“But we feel that we’ve got a strong midfield, we’ve straightened out the flanks and get a little more experience there,” Roberts added. “We’ve got a lot of people that can score goals.”
