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.
