Men's Soccer Clashes with UMBC Saturday
October 24, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 24, 2008
BOSTON - The Boston University men's soccer team will look to capture its fourth-straight conference road victory of the season when it clashes with UMBC on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Terriers (7-5-3, 4-1-1 AE) are currently riding a five-game unbeaten streak, while the Retrievers (6-6-2, 1-3-1 AE) are coming off Wednesday's 1-0 upset victory over Binghamton.
In the last three road games, BU defeated Stony Brook (1-0), Maine (1-0) and New Hampshire, while also earning a 2-1 home victory over Binghamton. In their last outing against Vermont, the Terriers' junior Tom Strackhouse posted his fourth goal of the season for the 1-0 lead, but the Catamounts responded with a goal of their own in the second half for a 1-1 draw. BU is currently tied for first in the conference standings with Albany at 13 points, but the Great Danes hold the tiebreaker after defeating the Terriers earlier in the season.
Junior Shaun Taylor, currently tied for fourth in the league with 16 points, leads the team with seven goals. Freshman Michael Bustamante is second on the squad in points with 10 and tied for first in assists with sophomore Aaron O'Neal after posting his sixth assist on Wednesday. Senior goalie Hrafn Davidsson carries a 1.01 goals against average (GAA) along with a .758 save percentage and four solo shutouts.
UMBC snapped a five-game winless streak when defender Chris Williams scored the game's lone goal in the 57th minute for the victory over the Bearcats. The Retrievers started the year 5-2-1 with wins over La Salle, Mount St. Mary's and Lipscomb before entering the conference portion of the schedule. Andrew Bulls leads them in points with 16 off seven goals and two assists. Steve King has started all 14 games and has a 1.28 GAA with a .776 save percentage and five shutouts.
The series which began in 2003 is tied at 2-2-1, after the Terriers' 2-1 win at home a year ago with Taylor and Neil Hlavaty scoring both goals for BU in the victory. UMBC is undefeated at home with a 1-0-1 record in Baltimore.
Up next for the Terriers is the final regular season game of the year at home against Hartford. Preceded by the Senior Day ceremony, the game is slated to kick off at 1 p.m. next Saturday (Nov. 1).
