May 30, 2013
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BOSTON - Highlighted by four games against in-state rivals and its inaugural season in the Patriot League, the Boston University men's soccer team and 29th-year head coach Neil Roberts have announced their 2013 schedule. The Terriers, who will face a total of five squads that participated in last year's NCAA tournament, will kick off the regular season campaign on August 30 against Boston College at Nickerson Field.
After preseason scrimmages at St. John's (Aug. 20) and Adelphi (Aug. 23), BU's schedule will consist of 17 regular season games, including nine at home. Continuing Roberts' philosophy of scheduling a challenging slate of games, the Terriers will face six teams who finished with an RPI of 60 or higher with only one non-conference opponent (Harvard) finishing below 100.
Seeking their first season-opening win since 2006, the Terriers will also be after their first multi-game win streak over Boston College since 1996 after last year's thrilling 1-0 shutout road victory. Suffering their first shutout loss to BU in 15 years, the Eagles fell in the first round of the NCAAs to a team that will also be visiting Nickerson Field later in the season.
BU will next make a quick road trip over to Connecticut for the second consecutive season. Owning a 1-1-2 mark over the last five years, the Huskies recorded an RPI ranking of eight and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. They finished with a record of 17-4-1 with the lone draw (1-1) coming against the Terriers.
In the longest regular season homestand since 2004, BU will welcome four opponents, including both finalists from the 2012 CAA Championship. On Sept. 11, runner-up Hofstra will visit Nickerson Field for the first time since 2000 after earning a 2-1 win in Long Island last season. Changing conference affiliations from the Northeast Conference to the MAAC this summer, Monmouth earned 11 victories last year like the Pride and will pay a visit on Sept. 14. The Hawks won the first-ever meeting, 1-0, back in 2011 at home.
The lengthy homestand concludes with Northeastern (Sept. 17) and Providence (Sept. 20). Playing at Nickerson Field for the first time since 2007, the Huskies defeated Hofstra in double overtime to claim an NCAA bid and followed up with a first-round win against BC before falling at UConn in the second round. BU leads the all-time series, 18-7-1,. The Friars and Terriers will face off for the third straight season after the teams battled to a 1-1 draw last year, extending BU's unbeaten streak to five games.
Up next for BU is a four-game road trip, starting with the short drive over to Harvard (Sept. 25). The Crimson leads the all-time series, 24-14-6, but the Terriers own a 4-3 record dating back to 2005.
Winner of an America East record 11 regular season titles and seven tournament crowns, the Terriers will then open their first year in the Patriot League at Navy on Sept. 28 in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
After facing NCAA second round participant Brown (Oct. 1) for the 11th consecutive season, BU will then visit Army on Oct. 5. Following last year's 1-0 overtime victory, the Bears lead 20-14-4. The Terriers own a 3-1 record against the Black Knights, including a 1-0 win at Lehigh in 2001.
Claiming a 4-0 home win over Holy Cross last season to increase its lead in the series to 8-1, the Terriers welcome back the Crusaders on Oct. 9 but this time as a fellow conference member. They then host Lehigh (Oct. 12) for the first time since participating in a tournament hosted by the Mountain Hawks back in 2001. The Terriers pulled out a 4-1 victory to earn the title.
Following a week off, BU will continue the conference schedule at defending Patriot League champion Lafayette on Oct. 19 in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. They then host 2012 MAAC runner-up and new conference member Loyola Maryland on Oct. 26 in a series that is even, 1-1-1, with the last game played in 1992.
In the final road trip of the regular season, the Terriers will visit Colgate (Oct. 30) for the first time since a 4-2 win at home in 2008 and will look to remain unbeaten with a 3-0-2 record in the series. They then travel to American (Nov. 2) in the first-ever meeting between the programs. BU will honor its seniors on Nov. 9 before hosting Bucknell for the first time.
The Terriers will look to hoist their first Patriot League trophy when the conference tournament begins with the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Nov. 12, followed by the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 15 and championship on Sunday, Nov. 17. The quarterfinals will be hosted by the higher-seeded teams with the top two seeds receiving byes. The semifinal and championship rounds will be hosted by the No. 1 seed and the brackets will re-seed after the quarterfinal round.
Plagued by injuries last year, BU went 6-8-4 but still posted an RPI ranking of 79 and will return four of its top five scorers for the upcoming season. Sophomore Mac McGuire tallied a team-high 11 points behind five goals and an assist, while junior Parker Powell earned five scores. An America East All-Conference Second Team honoree, senior Anthony Ciccone will look to continue to set up the offense after recording eight assists last season.
Appearing in just three games last year before suffering a season-ending injury, former America East Defender of the Year Kelvin Madzongwe returns to anchor a backline that shutout five opponents in 2012. Junior Nick Thomson has a combined 11 blank sheets in his first two seasons and will be back to defend the net for the Terriers.
