Although the match ended in a 1–1 tie, the Boston University men’s soccer team’s offense dominated the University of Hartford in a game where the Terriers outshot the Hawks 35–11.
I am very happy with the way we performed tonight in a lot of areas,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “We wanted to come out and play really hard, physical, quick, and I think we did that. I thought our offense dominated the game.”
For a team that has been playing conservatively on offense and waiting for chances to come to them, BU (2–5–3, 0–0–1 America East) neglected that philosophy Saturday against Hartford (6–4–1, 0–0–1 America East).
Led by junior midfielder Anthony Ciccone, senior forward Michael Bustamante and sophomore forward Dominique Badji the BU offense was aggressive and determined to improve its physical play.
The Terriers dominated time of possession and would have netted a few more goals, but Hartford goalie Viltsu Tuumi blocked an array of good shots from the BU forwards.
BU’s offense had a noticeable intensity and determination that has been absent for a majority of the year.
Bustamante had a strong game with a career-high 11 shots many of which came in the second half.
In the 61st minute, Bustamante beat Tuumi on an assist from Badji to tie the game at one.
Bustamante, after scoring the equalizer, continued to shoot on net for the remainder of the game, determined to lead the Terriers to a win.
“It was good to see Michael get going like Michael used to play,” Roberts said. “That was the first time that he played well and dominated like that. I was happy for him.”
Bustamante sat out last year with an injury and scored his first goal in almost a year last week in the rout of The College of the Holy Cross.
With the amount of injuries the Terriers have, BU will count on Bustamante and other leaders to control the game and make up for the lost firepower.
The Terriers chose the right game to start playing with an aggressive edge and a newfound intensity.
Hartford is the most penalized team in America East.
“[The Hawks] come in on some hard tackles and some high tackles at times,” Roberts said. “We wanted to make sure that we matched that in a clean way. I was a little disappointed with the number of two-foot tackles but that happens sometimes. I thought our guys responded well though.”
Typifying Hartford’s style of play, in the 81st minute Ciccone was on the ground battling for a ball at midfield when a Hartford player stepped on Ciccone’s face.
No card was given for the foul. Ciccone was noticeably angry at the play.
“Anthony was upset but he had every right to be upset,” Roberts said. “When you’re lying on the ground and someone steps on your face you have the right to get upset. I was happy with the way we responded and we just went back to playing.”
Ciccone was determined to make Hartford pay and was inches away from scoring the game-winning goal when his shot hit the cross bar only two minutes after his face was stepped on.
The physical nature of the game started taking a toll on players in the overtime period.
For BU, Ciccone, Badji and sophomore defender Sanford Spivey all went down with injuries.
BU lacked the fire and intensity they had throughout regulation and recorded only one shot and not many strong chances, which was unlike the effort it had shown all game.
The game ended in a draw, but the Terriers’ offense showed an increased amount of aggression that has the potential to result in more goals when it takes on Adelphi University at Nickerson Field on Tuesday night.
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