BOSTON – Winner of five of the last six games, the No. 4-seed Boston University men's soccer team will open the Patriot League tournament against No. 5 Bucknell on Tuesday night at Nickerson Field with action slated to begin at 7 p.m.
In the other quarterfinal match-up, No. 3 Colgate will host No. 6 Army West Point. The two winners will head south to join No. 2 Loyola Maryland at top-seed American for the final two rounds over the weekend.
TERRIER TIDBITS
- BU is making its third-straight appearance in the Patriot League tournament with a 1-2 record ... The Terriers though are making their first appearance in the first round after reaching the final in 2014 as the top seed and losing in the semifinals on the road as the No. 2 seed.
- The Terriers enter the tourney with plenty of momentum having outscored the last six opponents by a combined total of 6-1.
- BU is 7-2-0 at home this season with key wins over Dartmouth, Brown, Northeastern and Army with the two losses coming against American and Colgate.
- Senior Felix De Bona and junior Anthony Viteri have combined for 15 of the Terriers' 22 goals, while freshman Jerry Ozor and sophomore Magnus Benediktsson lead BU in assists at five and four, respectively.
- Senior Matt Gilbert has helped guide the Terriers to seven shutouts with a league-high 4.50 saves per game ... He owns a 1.12 goals against average and .800 save percentage.
SCOUTING BUCKNELL
- Bucknell is the No. 5 seed for the second time in three years after claiming the conference title in 2014.
- The Bison went 4-4-1 on the road during the regular season, having won the last three against Army, Loyola and Navy by a combined score of 5-2.
- Sebastian Blickman leads the PL with 23 points off 10 goals and three assists, while Nick King is second on the team with 15 points (4g,7a).
- Goalkeeper Emmett Witmer (4-5-1) has started 10 games and owns a 1.38 GAA and .674 save percentage ... Tyler Marchiano owns six starts with 2.10 GAA and .625 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
- Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 2016 – BU 1, @ Bucknell 1 (2OT)
- Bucknell finished with a 24-18 shot advantage with GIlbert tallying a career-high 10 saves.
- The Bison struck first in the 47th minute, but Viteri scored the equalizer in the
- The Bison are 2-0-3 in the series that started once the Terriers joined the PL in the summer of 2013.
- All five meetings have headed to overtime with one of the two meetings at Nickerson Field finishing in a draw ... The Bison won the 2014 title against BU, 3-2, on a golden goal.
