Men’s soccer in need of leadership

With a week to prepare for its next game, the Boston University men’s soccer team has a little tweaking to do, considering the Terriers scored only one goal while allowing four in 180 minutes of action last weekend in California. With high expectations after a very successful season last year (13-5-1, 9-1-1 America East), a few new faces will need to step forward to live up to the hype.

Replacing the Norwegian

The only way to replace superstar forward Joachim Kaland is by committee. Junior midfielder Andrew Dorman, who tallied 13 assists last year and one already this season, will be asked to step up even more. Up front, he will have some new faces to pass to, including freshman Jamie Johnson, who has the lone Terrier goal this season. The 5 foot, 7 inch forward from Brisbane, Australia was a standout on the Under-17 National Team and recently attended a full Australian National Team camp. Thompson steps up, then steps aside

After junior goalkeeper Matt Smith went down early last season with an injury, the Terriers’ season seemed in jeopardy as they handed over the reigns in net to freshman Zak Thompson. However, Thompson seemed to thrive in his newfound pressure, amounting a 1.08 goals against average and a .839 save percentage in 13 games. But Thompson’s biggest challenge yet may be in stepping aside this year as Smith returns to game-shape.

NCAA’s or bust

While the Terriers did earn an America East Championship last season, it was not the championship that comes with added perks. While a regular-season conference title puts a trophy on the shelf, it doesn’t get you an invitation to the NCAA College Cup like a conference tournament title does. That run ended last year when the top-seeded Terriers fell to the fourth seed, Northeastern University. The Terriers will be looking for revenge when they take the E-line to NU on October 23.

Living Up to the Hype

After exceeding a pre-season ranking as the fifth-best team in the conference last year, the Terriers have been chosen by the league’s coaches to win the conference this season. BU received seven of the nine possible first place votes, and outdistanced the University of Hartford by five points in the poll. The two frontrunners were followed by Northeastern, the University of New Hampshire, the State University of New York-Stony Brook, SUNY-Albany, the University of Vermont, SUNY-Binghamton, and the University of Maine.

Shooting Blanks

While two games may adequate to judge a team’s character, the Terriers will need to get more shots near the cage than they had last weekend. The Terriers gave up twice as many shots as they took last weekend, as they were outshot 28-14 on their West Coast trip. BU was outshot 18-7 by the University of California at Los Angeles and 10-7 by California State University at Fullerton.