Terriers Blank Bearcats in America East Opener, 3-0
October 6, 2002 | Men's Soccer
BOSTON -The Boston University men's soccer team began its defense of the America East regular season title with a 3-0 blanking of Binghamton University in its conference opener on Sunday afternoon at Nickerson Field.
With the victory, the Terriers (6-3-1, 1-0-0) extended their regular season home-unbeaten streak to 12 games. B.U. has not lost a regular season home game since dropping a 1-0 decision to Boston College on Sept. 29, 2001.
"Good teams win at home," said Terrier head coach Neil Roberts. "We're playing more home games this year than ever before and we're taking advantage of it."
Junior midfielder Andrew Dorman (Flintshire, Wales) was the first Terrier to find the back of the net, blasting a shot from the air into the top left corner of the goal at 34:28. Senior back David Fahey (Plainfield, NJ) and sophomore midfielder Federico Bianchi (Pacific Palisades, CA) earned the assists.
Fahey sparked the Terriers' next scoring opportunity in the second half, lofting a throw in from near the end line into the box in the 63rd minute of play. With a number of B.U. players looking for a header, Binghamton goalkeeper Ian Wendel over committed on the ball and Bianchi tapped the ball across the goal line at 63:35 to give B.U. a 2-0 lead.
Off a header by junior forward Alan McNamara (Woodview Raheem, Ireland), freshman midfielder Jamie Johnson (Brisbane, Australia) fired a shot from the left side of the box into the bottom right corner of the net for the Terriers final score at 78:39. Senior forward E.A. Carr (Independence, Ohio), who sent the pass to McNamara, also earned an assist.
Despite being hounded by an aggressive Binghamton defense that committed 21 fouls compared to B.U.'s seven, the Terriers were able to control possession for a majority of the game. B.U. out shot Binghamton, 12-8, and held a 6-3 advantage on corner kicks.
"This team has done everything we asked of them," said Roberts. "They want to be one of the nation's best teams."
Earning his fourth shutout of the season, senior goalkeeper Matt Smith (Lanchester, England) made four saves in the game. Wendel made three saves in 69:17 minutes of action and was relieved for the final 21:43 of the game by Matt Nolan. In relief, Nolan made one save.
Up next, the Terriers will look for back-to-back conference wins when they play the Black Bears of the University of Maine on Wednesday. Game time is 1 p.m. in Orono.
| SCORE BY PERIOD | 1st | 2nd | OT | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binghamton (4-5-1, 1-1-0) | 0 | 0 | - | 0 |
| Boston University (6-3-1,1-0-0) | 1 | 2 | - | 3 |
Scoring: B.U. Andrew Dorman (David Fahey, Federico Bianchi) 34:28; Bianchi (Fahey) 63:35; Jamie Johnson (Alan McNamara, E.A. Carr) 78:39.
Saves: B.U., Matt Smith 4; BING, Ian Wendel 3, Matt Nolan 1.
