After an emotional win against Stony Brook University in overtime, the Boston University men’s soccer team is preparing for another crucial America East matchup against the University of Vermont on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Nickerson Field.
Wednesday’s game will be evenly matched, as the Terriers (4–5–3, 1–0–1 America East) are almost identical to the Catamounts (5–4–3, 2–0–0 America East) statistically.
Because BU is only a half-game behind the conference-leading Catamounts, the winner of this game will have the best record in the America East.
Vermont plays well on both sides of the ball.
Its 1.33 goals per game average and 1.25 goals allowed per game average are identical to BU’s.
The Catamounts offense is led by senior defender Joe Losier and senior forward D.J. Edler.
The seniors are tied for the team lead and fourth in the conference with five goals on the season.
Losier is sixth in the conference in points (12), fifth in points per game (1.09) and fourth in goals per game (0.45). He plays a very offensive game considering he is a defender and he was on the America East all-conference second team in 2011.
“[Losier’s] goals are off of free kicks and throw-ins. It’s definitely something of concern,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “We have to make sure we don’t give away a lot of free kicks and throw-ins and, that when we do, we defend it well.”
Edler is seventh in the conference in points (11), seventh in points per game (0.92) and fifth in goals per game (0.42).
The Catamounts also have a surplus of solid upperclassmen defenders in senior defender Sean Sweeney, senior defender Seth Rebeor, junior defender Scott Kisling, junior defender Salvatore Borea and Losier all getting a fair share of starts and playing time.
“Stony Brook had seven seniors in their starting lineup, so Vermont is definitely a similar matchup in terms of how old their guys are,” Roberts said.
Junior goalkeeper Conor Leland completes Vermont’s stable defense. He has started nine games this season.
Leland ranks near the top of the conference in every goalkeeping category. He is fourth in goals against average (1.17), third in save percentage (.804), fourth in saves (45), third in saves per game (five) and fourth in shutouts (two).
The depth and stability throughout the lineup has led the Catamounts to a stretch of eight games in which they have suffered only one loss.
In its most recent game, Vermont defeated Hartford University — a team that BU tied — by a score of 3–2.
However, none of Vermont’s past eight games have come against a ranked opponent, and before its game against Hartford, the team lost decisively to Dartmouth College (5–5–0) by a score of 3–1.
For the Terriers, senior midfielder Michael Bustamante, redshirt freshman forward Mac McGuire and sophomore forward Parker Powell are tied for the team lead and eighth in the America East with three goals.
Junior midfielder Anthony Ciccone leads the team and is second in the conference with six assists.
Sophomore forward Dominique Badji has been steadily improving lately, getting a game-winning golden goal against Stony Brook, the best team in the conference, for his second goal of the season.
Badji leads the conference in shots with 43, while Bustamante is in second with 38. The team leads the conference in shots with 181.
All of these shots have gone a long way towards taking a load off of a defense that has put injuries to junior defender Kelvin Madzongwe and freshman defender Jeroen Blugh in the past.
“It’s always easier when you score goals,” Roberts said. “Defense starts from distribution in the back and being able to posses the ball in the back, and then doing the same in the front. Defense is a full team thing.
“The guys have fit in to their new positions. It took a while but they’re adjusting well.”
A primary difference between the Terriers and Catamounts is youth.
Bustamante and senior defender Max White are the only seniors on BU’s roster.
With the injuries to Madzongwe and Blugh, White has been thrust into a more prominent role on the back line.
After starting six games and appearing in 13 games all of last season, White has already appeared in 10 of the Terriers’ 12 games this year and has started six of them.
This has allowed young players such as McGuire, Powell and Badji to not only gain valuable experience, but also improve their capabilities heading into next season.
The stakes grow higher with each game, as the Terriers are looking to go on a run that could possibly take them to the NCAA tournament.
“We’re not out of it. Our RPI is 54. We go on a good stretch, get into the low 30s, and if we can do that who knows what can happen,” Roberts said. “We’re not just getting ready for next season. We’re going out there to win the next game. That’s all.”
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