Men's Soccer Hosts Maine on Wednesday
October 9, 2007 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 9, 2007
BOSTON - The Boston University men's soccer team will try to rebound after an overtime loss to Binghamton in the Terriers' America East season-opener on Saturday. BU (5-5-0, 0-1-0 AE) holds an overwhelming 28-3-4 advantage in the all-time series with the Black Bears (2-7-1, 0-0-1).
The Terriers lost just their second America East season-opening game since joining the league in 1989. Sophomore Shaun Taylor (Sandown, England) received a pass from freshman Aaron O'Neal (Virginia Beach, Va.) in the 16th minute to give BU the early lead. The Bearcats tallied the equalizer 17 minutes later. Five of the previous eight games between the teams required extra time and this one was no different. Binghamton knocked in the game-winning goal in the final minute of the first overtime.
O'Neal is tied with junior Petur Sigurdsson (Hafnarfjordur, Iceland) for the team lead in goals (3) on the year. Junior Neil Hlavaty (Lombard, Ill.) has two goals and four assists this season to lead BU in points. Sophomore goalkeeper Hrafn Davidsson (Reykjavik, Iceland) is the Terrier keeper on record, earning the decision in each of BU's ten contests. Davidsson has a goals against average (GAA) of 1.10 and a save percentage of .825.
Maine is coming off a 1-1 draw with New Hampshire on Saturday, Oct. 6. UNH found the back of the net first, at 17:08, with a header to the top corner. Maine knotted the score at 1-1 late in the first half after Philip Reed directed an in-direct kick to Kiaran McCormack. Dimitri Anastasiou leads the Black Bears with three goals for six points on the year. Nemanja Kostic has started eight games in goal and has a GAA of 1.76 and a save percentage of .733.
The all-time series dates back to the 1972 season. Boston U won or tied in 28 of the first 30 matches played between the squads. Lately, Maine has revived, winning its first game in 29 years when the Black Bears earned a 3-2 win in 2004 at home. BU has won five of the last eight games, recording two ties in 2003 and 2005 - both in double overtime.
Next up, the Terriers have a non-conference contest against Penn State on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 2 p.m.
