While the Boston University men’s soccer team did not achieve its goal of winning the America East Conference Tournament, the young squad accomplished a lot considering the tough situations it found itself in.
Injuries plagued the Terriers (9-9, 5-2 America East) from the beginning of the year, when senior midfielder Michael Bustamante was ruled out for the remainder of the season. Senior defender Colin Henry and senior forward Ben Berube also missed time throughout the season, and frequently played through their nagging injuries.
“I do think under the circumstances I am very proud of the way the guys performed,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “It was a very difficult season for a lot of people, and under those circumstances they did a very good job.”
Freshman forward Dominique Badji dislocated his shoulder in a 2-0 loss to then-No. 22 Brown University on Sept. 23, but played through it for the rest of the season. Badji, who was named America East Rookie of the Year, will have surgery on that shoulder this offseason.
“It’s a credit to a skinny little kid like him to be as physical as he was and score as many goals as he did with the brace that he was wearing under his shirt and the pain he was in,” Roberts said. “You never heard the kid complain once.”
With five goals on the season, Badji was tied for the team lead. For much of the season, goals came at a premium for the Terriers, as BU finished last in America East with 17 goals in 18 games.
Badji was part of a fleet of successful freshmen for the Terriers. The team consistently started at least five freshmen every game, including midfielder Cameron Souri, and defenders Sanford Spivey and Taylor Washington.
“I don’t think anybody on our team improved as much as Sanford did from preseason to the end of the season,” Roberts said. “If the first day of camp you told me that Sanford Spivey would start and play in just about every minute in every game there is no way I would have believed that. “
Another freshman who was spectacular this season was goalkeeper Nick Thomson, who had the best goals-allowed average in the conference with 0.95. Roberts was very impressed with the way Thomson stepped into the starting role as a rookie.
“In my 27 years of coaching I don’t think I have ever used a freshman goalie for the whole season,” Roberts said. “Nick has the potential to get so much better. He is an extremely motivated kid, and we really think that the best days are ahead for Nick even though he had a really good year.”
While Thomson was impressive, the Terriers back line could also be credited for the defensive success BU enjoyed for most of the season. When the team was struggling offensively, Roberts changed the scheme to one with three defenders on the field at once instead of four. The change would make most teams more vulnerable to goals, but BU remained consistently stout on defense.
Of the Terrier defensemen, sophomore defender Kelvin Madzongwe stood out as not only the top defender on the team, but in all of America East as he won the America East Defender of the Year.
“Kelvin was our most consistent player for sure,” Roberts said. “He is developing into a player of a whole different level.”
The Terriers had some impressive victories throughout the season, including their 2-1 victory at Harvard University on Sept. 28, and their 1-0 overtime win against eventual America East champion Stony Brook University on Oct. 15. BU even took down then-No. 23 Providence College 1-0 on Oct. 4.
With the wins came some close defeats though, as some of the Terriers’ losses were almost as impressive as wins. BU lost to then-No. 3 University of Connecticut, then-No. 4 Boston College and then-No. 10 St. John’s University each by scores of 1-0.
“If you look at the NCAA bracket, those are three of the teams we played that are seeded in the tournament,” Roberts said.
As the season ends, so does the college careers for senior midfielder Stephen Knox, defender Peter Mehlert, as well as Berube and Henry.
Knox served as captain of the team this season, and his consistent offensive play led the Terriers to the America East regular season title. He tied Badji for the team lead in goals, and was second on the team to Badji’s 13 points with 11.
Without those seniors on the team next year, and with only two juniors currently on the roster, the team will still be a young squad next season. Roberts is looking for this offseason to not only be a time to recover from injuries, but to improve for a run at the championship next season.
“We have to get better. We are not good enough right now,” Roberts said. “If some of our sophomores like Kelvin or like [sophomore midfielder Derek] McCaffrey keep developing like they have over the past couple years, then we should be okay.”
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