After starting the season without a loss through five games, the Boston University men's soccer team has encountered its first real rough patch of the season in a three-game losing streak. A hard-fought 2-1 loss to St. John's University on Sept. 12 gave way to a disaster of a weekend, in which the Terriers were shut out by both No. 10 Boston College and No. 22 Brown University by a combined score of 6-0. BU had not allowed eight goals in a three-game span in 11 years.
The Terriers, who now own a 3-3-1 record, have not been at or below .500 since October 2008. Last year, their struggles came in the latter half of the season, as they dropped four of their last six matches in conference play to finish 9-6-2. With just two games left before they begin what promises to be a challenging conference slate, BU will need to sort its problems &- defensive inconsistency being chief among those &- quickly to avoid repeating the disappointing ending they encountered in 2009.
<strong>Offensive frustration</strong>
In a season that has been frustrating at times for BU forwards and midfielders, junior midfielder Ben Berube may have more reason to feel unlucky than any of his teammates in the offensive zone. Berube is second on the team in shots with 19, putting five of those on net, but has yet to record a goal. Last year, the Somerset native put up six points with one goal and four assists.
Junior midfielder Michael Bustamante, who leads the Terriers with 20 shots and nine on goal, has put up just one goal and one assist in his five games. The team's lack of quality chances despite an abundance of shots has been a problem. BU coach Neil Roberts said after Sunday's loss to Brown that although the team controlled the ball for much of the game, they weren't, in his words, "dangerous."
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