BOSTON – Looking to move up in the Patriot League standings, the Boston University men's soccer team will conclude the home regular season slate against Bucknell on Sunday with action set to begin at 1 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early for free pizza, as the Terriers will honor seniors
Josh Barkoff,
Mike Bernardi,
T.J. Butzke,
Troy Phoa,
David Riccio,
Ben Valek and
Adam Wright in a pregame ceremony.
The contest has major implications for the upcoming Patriot League tournament, which only features six teams. Both the Terriers and Bison are tied for fifth at 10 points with Army looming one point behind in seventh.
TERRIER TIDBITS
- BU is 2-1-1 in home conference games with wins over Army (1-0) and American (2-1) and a 0-0 draw against Lafayette ... The lone loss was a 2-1 overtime defeat to Lehigh.
- With the game-winning goal on Wednesday against the Black Knights, freshman Kari Petursson moved into sole possession of second on the team with nine points off three goals and three assists.
- Senior keeper Mike Bernardi made three saves against Army to claim his third shutout of the season ... He now owns a 0.766 save percentage and 1.30 goals against average.
- Riccio is the lone Terrier to start every game this season ... The defender cleared one of the Black Knights' shot attempts for a team save in the second half.
- Opponents are averaging 1.9 more shots per game and own a 66-53 advantage in corners.
SCOUTING BUCKNELL
- The Bison started the conference schedule 3-0-1 with 1-0 wins over Loyola, Holy Cross and Lafayette and a 1-1 draw against American ... Since then, Bucknell has fallen to Colgate (2-0), Army (3-1) and Lehigh (1-0).
- Bucknell is 3-3-1 in road games with a non-conference win at Mount St. Mary's.
- Bucknell is 2-1-3 in OT games with wins against Holy Cross and Robert Morris.
- Tyler Peterson leads the Bison with six points and three goals, while Nick King owns a team-high three assists.
- Ryan Ott has started all but one game at net, claiming a 0.791 save percentage with a 0.92 goals against average with five shutouts.
- Opponents are averaging 2.3 more shots per game despite Bucknell owning an 84-68 advantage in corner kicks.
SERIES HISTORY
- Bucknell leads the all-time series, 2-0-5, after the teams finished in a 0-0 draw last year in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
- All seven meetings have gone to overtime with the Bison prevailing in both 2013 and 2014 at Nickerson Field with the help of golden goals.
- Last season, BU posted a 15-5 advantage in shot attempts with Bucknell needing just three saves to preserve the tie.
- In the last meeting at Nickerson Field in 2016 during the PL quarterfinals, Bucknell eliminated the Terriers via a penalty kick shootout.
- The Bison struck first in the 29th minute before BU netted the equalizer in the 79th minute ... Bucknell won the shootout, 4-1, to advance despite BU posting a 29-19 advantage in shot attempts.
