In the second game of a three-game home set, the Boston University men’s soccer team will take on Lehigh University as both teams ready for the final stretch of Patriot League play.
While the Terriers (10-3-1, 4-0-1 Patriot League) will try to maintain sole possession of first place in the Patriot League, the Mountain Hawks (8-5-1, 2-3 Patriot League) will be searching for back-to-back wins against conference opponents for the first time this year.
Lehigh is having a confounding season. It won two thirds of its non-conference games, outscoring opponents 15-9, including five shutouts in those nine games. Within the Patriot League, however, the Mountain Hawks have struggled mightily. At 2-3 in conference play, Lehigh currently sits in sixth in the Patriot League.
Lehigh only scored one goal against a Loyola University Maryland team whose defense is the worst in the Patriot League by nearly a goal per game. The only league game in which Lehigh found the net more than once was against the United States Military Academy — a game they lost 2-3 on Oct. 11.
All of the Mountain Hawks’ final four opponents rank in the top four in the Patriot League in either goals-against average or goals per game.
Right now, everything seems to be going the Terriers’ way. They have won two contests in a row, have not dropped a match against a Patriot League team since the Patriot League Tournament final last season and have shut out five of their last seven opponents. In their last game against the University at Albany, BU secured a resounding 3-0 victory despite missing some key pieces.
Without two of the team’s leaders — sophomore midfielder Anthony Viteri and senior defender Jeroen Blugh — the team beat the Great Danes (7-7-1) handily. Sophomore defender Eric Udelson and sophomore midfielder Adam Sheikali both scored their first goals as Terriers, while sophomore forward Danny Foen recorded his second in two games.
BU coach Neil Roberts mentions that Foen — whose goal against Albany was a booming shot from the left flank — has done a lot more for the offense than just score.
“Danny is a kid that’s just been working really hard all season,” Roberts said. “He’s a quiet kid. He’s very skillful. We put him in games and his job is to run at people, to beat people and to cause a little destruction. … That’s what he’s been doing — forget about the goals — he’s really caused some problems [for opposing defenses].”
Defensively the Terriers have been impressive as well. Led by junior goalkeeper Matt Gilbert, the Terriers now have seven shutouts on the year, the most recent of which came without Blugh. BU’s shutout total is the second most in the Patriot League.
Roberts admits that while having guys like Viteri and Blugh out, the underclassmen have stepped up.
“We’re definitely happy with our depth,” Roberts said. “In preseason we were pleasantly surprised with the number of players we had who we thought could help us. … Coming into the stretch, that’s such a key when you have [upperclassmen] out and then these kids step up and they just do a good job. It’s a luxury that we haven’t had in a while, so it’s nice.”
For the Mountain Hawks, the Terriers will be their toughest Patriot League opponents to date. They will have to find a way to contain a team that is getting production from nearly everyone, and they will have to do what has not been done in over a week and a half: score against the BU.
