The Boston University men’s soccer team will take a brief detour from its upcoming America East schedule on Tuesday, when it faces Adelphi University at Nickerson Field.
Tuesday’s matchup will be the first time the Terriers (2–5–3, 0–0–1 America East) will face the Panthers (1–9–0) in either program’s history.
Neither team has had much success throughout the season, and BU coach Neil Roberts said he expects a battle between teams hungry for a win.
“We are looking at both teams trying to find a win, I guess. That’s the best way to look at it,” Roberts said. “They have been searching for a win. They have played a lot of teams close and lost some overtime games. We have been in the same situations. It is pretty much what it is.”
Adelphi is coming off a tough 3–2 loss to Marist College on Saturday, in which the Panthers fell apart in the second half.
Midfielder Nicholas Costa scored in the 37th minute off a penalty kick for the Panthers before freshman Chris Joseph increased their lead with a goal in the first minute of the second half.
However, just under 20 minutes later, Adelphi allowed two goals in just over a minute and allowed the Red Foxes to get even.
The Red Foxes scored once more in the final six minutes to take a lead they would never surrender.
The two goals Adelphi scored on Saturday tied the most the team has scored in a single game this season.
The Panthers’ offense has been shut out five times in its 10 contests and has only scored seven goals over the entire season.
Adelphi has struggled on the defensive end as well, as goalkeeper Ahmad Salamah has allowed an average of 2.64 goals per game on the season.
While he has made 47 saves on the year, he only has a .635 save percentage with one shutout.
His shutout came in the team’s double-overtime loss to the University of Massachusetts.
While the Panthers have struggled on the back line statistically, the Terriers have had a tough year along their own back line in terms of staying healthy, as they have already lost the former America East Defender of the Year in junior Kelvin Madzongwe and stand-out freshman defender Jeroen Blugh to injury.
Things have only gotten worse for the team though, as sophomore defender Sanford Spivey is likely out for Tuesday’s game due to an injury he suffered in the team’s 1–1 tie with Hartford University.
Spivey had started all 10 games for BU this season, totaling 941 minutes of playing time.
Without Spivey in the lineup, the team will have to rely on some more inexperienced defenders as well as a stronger defensive effort from the midfield to keep shots away from sophomore goalkeeper Nick Thomson.
“I think that we have been dealing with [the injuries] pretty well,” Roberts said. “I think we saw in different games we have played well at times, and we played well the other night with the players we had out there. People get hurt and that is an opportunity for people to come in and get their opportunity to play.”
While the team tries to fill its holes along the defensive line, BU will continue to rely on junior midfielder Anthony Ciccone to provide offense.
Ciccone has scored a goal and tallied four assists so far this season while serving as a primary weapon setting up scoring chances.
“[Ciccone] has had good games for us since his freshman year but they haven’t been consistent,” Roberts said. “I can say this year he has been at a high level pretty much all year long. You can see his hard work, concentration and he is being dangerous. I’m happy for him.”
Ciccone has taken over the attacking role this season that was left over from graduated players Ben Berube and Stephen Knox.
Alongside senior midfielder Michael Bustamante, the junior has helped create the majority of the BU offense on the season through his passing and shooting.
If the Terriers want any chance at making the postseason this year, they will have to get an at-large bid. However, with only two wins at this point of the season, the Terriers will have a very tough road to make the NCAA Tournament.
“We need to get wins, obviously,” Roberts said. “We are going to need a big stretch to have any sort of chance.”
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