Terriers to Clash with Holy Cross Friday Night in PL Semifinals

Friday, November 10

Baltimore, MD

8 PM

Boston University

Holy Cross (PL Semifinal)

2017 Patriot League Men's Soccer Tournament Semifinal Preview Graphic

Terriers to Clash with Holy Cross Friday Night in PL Semifinals

November 9, 2017 | Men's Soccer

Watch on PLN Live Stats

2017 Patriot League Tournament Semifinals: Game 2 #2 Men's Soccer (7-8-3, 6-2-1 PL) vs. #5 Holy Cross (7-8-3, 4-3-2 PL)
Date & Time	Friday, Nov. 10 \| 8 p.m.
Venue	Ridley Athletic Complex \| Baltimore, Md.
Live Stats	LoyolaGreyhounds.com
Watch	Patriot League Network
Twitter	@BUGameDay \| @TerrierMSOC

BOSTON – Seeking their second NCAA appearance in three years, the No. 2-seed Boston University men's soccer team will open the Patriot League tournament against No. 5 Holy Cross in the semifinals Friday night at Loyola Maryland's Ridley Athletic Complex with an 8 p.m. start time.

The host and top-seed Greyhounds will start the doubleheader at 5 p.m. against No. 6 Colgate, who upset No. 3 Bucknell (1-0) back on Tuesday. The Crusaders reached the semis by defeating Lehigh, 3-0, on the road.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT NOTES

Seven-time conference tournament champion and three-time runner-up BU is 17-10-7 (.603) all-time in conference tourneys and 10-6-2 (.611) in semifinal action ... BU last won a tournament in 2008.
The Terriers are making their fifth appearance as the No. 2 seed with a 4-1-1 all-time mark ... They were eliminated in the semifinals in 2015 by American but still managed to earn an NCAA at-large berth due to the high RPI ranking and overall body of work.
BU is making its fourth-straight PL tournament appearance, as only the top six in the standings earn a berth ... The Terriers are 1-2-1 with a semifinal win and overtime title game loss in 2014 ... Following the loss to American in 2015, BU fell to Bucknell last season during the opening round via a penalty kick shootout.

TERRIER TIDBITS

The Terriers went 1-2-0 against the three remaining squads with all three games coincidentally taking place at Nickerson Field ... They posted a 3-0 win over Holy Cross and losses to both Loyola (2-1) and Colgate (4-0).
BU had six Terriers receive All-Conference accolades with three named to the second team and three named to the third team.
Freshman midfielder Toti Knutsson (2nd) owns a team-high 11 points off three goals and five assists, while sophomore forward Matt McDonnell (3rd) has a team-high four goals.
With a backline featuring senior Adam Sheikali (2nd) and Elias Lampis (3rd), sophomore goalkeeper Michael Bernardi (2nd) posted a 0.79 goals against average and 0.741 save percentage during nine conference games ... The Terriers allowed a conference-low seven goals in PL action with the help of six shutouts, but four of them occurred this past Friday in loss to Colgate.
Freshman midfielder Peter Kargbo (3rd) started all 17 appearances and played 1,452 minutes during the regular season, second most behind Sheikali (1,563).

SCOUTING HOLY CROSS

The Crusaders are riding a four-game unbeaten streak following a 4-3 OT win over Colgate, a 0-0 draw at Army and back-to-back wins against Lehigh (1-0, 3-0).
Arno Rupp leads HC with 18 points off eight goals and two assists, while Max Krause has a team-high four assists ... Both of Owen Azrak's goals were game winners.
Henry Stutz has played every second at net, posting a 1.43 goals against average and .703 save percentage with six shutouts.
HC shared three non-conference opponents with the Terriers, claiming a 3-0 win over Northeastern with losses to Brown (2-1 OT) and Rhode Island (2-0) ... BU went 0-2-1 against the three squads on the road with a draw against the Huskies.

SERIES HISTORY

BU owns an 12-2-0 advantage in a rivalry that dates back to 1967 ... The two teams though did not meet between 1973-2009 ... Friday's matchup will mark the first postseason meeting.
The Terriers are 4-1-0 since joining the Patriot League in 2013 with the Crusaders pulling out a win in the first contest at Nickerson Field, 1-0.
BU claimed a 3-0 win back on Oct. 4 with the help of McDonnell's 13th-minute goal off a penalty kick ... Sophomores Satchel Cortet and Jerry Ozor both added a goal.
Bernardi needed just one save for the shutout victory, as the Terriers finished with a 11-7 advantage in shots ... Both teams had four corner kicks ... Sheikali was named Turnpike Trophy MVP for his efforts in the backline.
Last season, the Terriers won at Holy Cross, 2-0, despite being outshot, 20-14, with McDonnell assisting on both goals … Matt Gilbert ('17) was named Turnpike Trophy MVP after making four impressive saves.