Terriers Renew Rivalry with UMass Saturday Night
September 12, 2014 | Men's Soccer
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BOSTON - After a week off, the Boston University men's soccer team welcomes UMass to Nickerson Field on Saturday night with action slated to begin at 7 p.m. The Terriers (2-2-0) and Minutemen (0-4-0) will meet for the 43rd time overall in a rivalry that dates back to 1951.
All four of BU's contests this season have featured the same 1-0 score with the Terriers winning the first two games. Junior Lucas McBride and sophomore Felix De Bona provided the first two goals against Fordham and Iona. Senior Kelvin Madzongwe anchored a backline that limited the two teams to a combined three shots on net.
The offense kept the pressure high by averaging 23.5 shots in the first two games. Siena and Brown though limited the Terriers' chances to just 17 shots total in the pair of losses.
Senior goalkeeper Nick Thomson tallied a combined seven saves, but the Terriers made their jobs more difficult by out-fouling the Saints and Bears, 29-14. Brown headed in a late game winner off a free kick last Saturday. Siena scored early but had an easier time defending BU's charges due to the inopportune fouls.
BU will try to get back on track against a UMass squad that has been outscored, 12-3. Selected to finish 11th in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, the Minutemen went on a season-opening four-game swing through the west coast and fell to Utah Valley (5-1) and San Jose State (4-1) to begin the trip. They solidified their defense in the next two games at Santa Clara (2-0) and Cal Poly (1-0) but were shut out on the offensive end both times.
In 2011 when the two teams last met, the Terriers rallied from an early one-goal deficit to win at UMass, 2-1, with senior Dominique Badji assisting on both goals. That victory snapped a six-game winless streak and marked BU's first win over the Minutemen since 2005.
UMass leads the all-time series, 21-14-7, and will try to avoid its first shutout in the rivalry since 2004. The two squads posted identical 1-1 draws in 2009 and 2010 before BU earned head coach Neil Roberts his 300th career victory in the game against the Minutemen.
Following the contest, the Terriers will stay in the city and visit Northeastern on Tuesday (Sept. 16) at 6 p.m.
