Terriers Conclude Non-Conference Schedule at Brown Tuesday Night
September 30, 2013 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 30, 2013
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BOSTON - Continuing a four-game road trip, the Boston University men's soccer team will visit regional rival Brown on Tuesday night with action set to begin at 7 p.m. The contest marks the Terriers' final non-conference game of the season.
BU enters with a 3-4-1 (0-1 PL) record following Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Navy, while the Bears (2-4-1) are coming off a 5-0 throttling over Marist. A participant in the second round of the 2012 NCAA tournament, Brown leads the all-time series, 20-14-4, in a rivalry that dates back to 1969.
The two programs took a hiatus from 1997-2002 before resuming the series in 2003. The Bears are 5-3-2 in the last 10 games and are riding a five-game unbeaten streak against the Terriers, having shut out BU six times during that span.
After a 3-3 tie in 2009, Brown won the last three games by a combined score of 5-0, including a 1-0 overtime victory at Nickerson Field in 2012. One minute into the extra stanza, the Bears placed a free kick from the midfield into the box and used two headers to net the game winner.
Through seven games this season, Brown has shut out two programs, Marist and Bryant. The Bears host a Terrier squad that is seeking its first goal after being shut out for the last 346:52. The offensive rut started in the 34th minute against Northeastern (W, 1-0) and has been kept in tact by Providence (L, 2-0), Harvard (T, 0-0) and Navy (L, 1-0). It the longest stretch without a score for BU since 2007.
BU has shown the ability to score, as evidenced by a 3-0 victories over MAAC preseason favorite Monmouth and combined 3-1 wins against 2012 CAA finalists Hofstra and Northeastern. Six Terriers have netted at least one goal this season with senior Anthony Ciccone accounting for four of the seven assists. Freshman midfielder David Asbjornsson leads BU with 19 shot attempts and six shots on goal, while sophomore Mac McGuireis the lone Terrier with a goal and assist. A preseason All-Conference honoree, junior Dominique Badji has been the victim of bad luck, hitting the crossbar with a header against Providence and the post at Navy.
Despite having been shut out four times already this season, BU is tied with opponents in goals scored at 7-7. Key reason is the play of redshirt freshman keeper Matt Gilbert, who ranks 24th nationally in save percentage at 0.846 and 35th in saves per game (4.71). As a team with the assistance of the backline, the Terriers rank 44th overall in goals against average at 0.84.
They will try to contain a Brown squad that scored five goals against Marist after being held to four total through the first six games of the season. Following a 1-0 win over Bryant, the Bears earned a 1-1 draw at Providence before falling to Washington (1-0), Hofstra (2-1 OT), Indiana (2-1) and Butler (3-0).
Like the Terriers, Brown is tied with opponents in goals scored at 9-9. Jose Salama leads the Bears with six points off two goals and two assists, while Tariq Akeel has two scores. Daniel Taylor and Jason Pesek both have two assists apiece.
Named Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Monday, Nate Pomeroy netted one of the five goals against Marist and is currently tied-for-fourth on the team with seven shot attempts. Josh Weiner has started all seven games at net for Brown and owns a 0.763 save percentage and 1.30 goals against average.
Following the game, BU will resume Patriot League play at Army on Saturday (Oct. 5) at 7 p.m.
