Roberts Pleased With Team's Effort vs. Holy Cross
August 27, 1999 | Men's Soccer
Tony Piperno and Frank Vigliotti each scored first-half goals as the Terrier regulars controlled play in a pre-season soccer match on Thursday, August 26th at Holy Cross. Then, in the second-half, with head coach Neil Roberts observing his younger players, the Crusaders took advantage of two penalty kicks to outscore the Terriers, 3-0.
"I was pleased with how we played," said Roberts, whose team will play a second exhibition game against the Montreal International Soccer Academy at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday (August 28th) at Duxbury High School.
The Terriers, who are the pre-season pick of the America East soccer coaches to win the conference title, will open their regular-season next Friday night (September 3rd) at the Florida International Tournament against the host team. Then, on Sunday, B.U. will take on Florida Atlantic.
"I think we controlled the first half against Holy Cross," continued the coach. "We did what we needed to do, and I saw what I needed to see." One of the major goals of the scrimmage was to see how the underclassmen performed.
Of the freshmen that saw action, Tony D'Angelo (Tewksbury, MA), played very well. "I like the way he played," noted Roberts. "He has played very well during our pre-season, and he could be in the starting lineup when we open the season."
Other newcomers who have continued to play well are freshman goalie Matt Smith (Lanchester, England) and junior midfielder Kirk Miller (Minnetonka, MN). Miller transferred to B.U. after spending his first two seasons at the University of Maryland.
"We still have a lot of work to do," said Roberts. "We have put in a new system (4 backs, 5 midfielders, and one forward), and the players still have to learn better control."
