Aug. 31, 2011
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BOSTON - Facing its first ranked team of the season, the Boston University men's soccer team travels to No. 17 Monmouth on Thursday (Sept. 1) with action set to begin at 7 p.m. Coming of a 2-0 victory at Holy Cross, the Terriers (1-0-0) will meet the Hawks (1-0-0) for the first time ever.
In 2010, BU went 1-2 against ranked squads with the victory coming against then-No. 20 Harvard at Nickerson Field. The Terriers will be seeking their first road win over a ranked squad since earning a 3-0 victory at No. 12 Connecticut on Sept. 5, 2009.
Last Friday, BU earned its first season-opening victory since 2006 behind the efforts of reigning America East Player of the Week Stephen Knox, who recorded his second-ever multi-goal game. The senior captain stepped up offensively for a team that started five freshmen.
Classmate Ben Berube recorded an assist on the game-winning goal, and freshman Cameron Souri came off the bench to assist on the second score. With the help of a backline featuring 2010 America East Defender of the Year Colin Henry, freshman goalkeeper Nick Thomsonhad a strong performance with four saves for the shutout.
With 2010 AE Rookie of the Year Kelvin Madzongwe out due to injury, 27th-year head coach Neil Roberts relied on freshmen Taylor Washington, James Holler and Sanford Spivey to help on the backline. Midfielder Dominique Badji was the other freshman to start in the game.
They will face a tough test against a Monmouth squad that has captured the last two Northeast Conference tournaments and previous four regular season titles. Last year, the Hawks were ranked as high as No. 11 before falling to Dartmouth in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
They are led by senior and preseason All-American RJ Allen. The defender was named to the College Soccer News Team of the Week after helping Monmouth earn a 1-0 win over St. Peter's with an assist.
Allen, senior midfielder Max Hamilton and senior back Anthony Vazquez were named this offseason to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list along with the Terriers' senior Michael Bustamante, who is out this season due to an injury suffered last spring.
Following the contest, BU will play its first home game of the season on Saturday (Sept. 3) against St. John's as part of the fifth-annual Terrier Tailgate. For more details on the event, click here.
