Boston University (0-0) vs. #9 New Hampshire (0-0)
Date & Time: Thursday, Aug. 22 | 4 p.m.
Venue: Nickerson Field | Boston, Mass.
Twitter: @BUGameDay | @TerrierMSOC

BOSTON – Riding a 14-game home unbeaten streak, the defending Patriot League champion Boston University men's soccer team will open its 76th season by hosting No. 9 New Hampshire on Thursday afternoon with action slated to begin at 4 p.m. As part of the doubleheader, the Terrier women will welcome UMass Lowell to Nickerson Field in the nightcap starting at 7 p.m.

TERRIER TIDBITS

• Led by 2023 PL Coach of the Year Kevin Nylen, BU went 8-0-2 at home last year, finishing with a pair of shutouts in the PL tournament against Colgate (2-0) and then Lafayette (1-0) to hoist its first conference trophy since 2008. The Terriers came up short at defending national champion Syracuse in the NCAA opener, 3-1, to end the year with a 12-4-4 record.
• The Terriers will seek their first top-10 victory since earning a 1-0 win at then-No. 9 New Hampshire in 2022. BU last defeated a top-10 team at home in 2009 with a 1-0 victory over then-No. 1 St. John's.
• BU returns 12 of the 31 goals scored with junior Alex Bonnington owning a team-high four goals with one assist. Preseason All-PL honoree and senior Andrew Rent brings back a team-high 10 points off three goals and four assists.
• Graduate student Aidan Bone, junior John Roman, senior Aidan Holmes, and senior Daniel Kim all found the back of the net once last fall. Both Bone and Roman added two assists apiece, while sophomore Jason Zacarias earned three assists.
• Following the graduation of All-American defender Griffin Roach, Quin DeLaMater and Ryan Lau are the top returning defenders with a combined 29 starts between the two last fall. DeLaMater was a preseason All-PL member alongside Rent. 
• BU has four goalkeepers with graduate student Andrew Wike the lone Terrier to see action last year behind two-time PL Goalkeeper of the Year Francesco Montali, who was drafted in the third round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Wike started in two contests, posting a 1.50 goals against average and .625 save percentage.
• BU welcomed nine newcomers with five transfers, including a pair from South Carolina in junior forward Damola Salami and junior goalkeeper Ben Alexander. 

SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE

• The Wildcats went 13-3-4 last season with an NCAA at-large bid. Despite finishing runner-up in the America East tournament, UNH earned an opening round bye  in the NCAA tournament and eliminated defending national champion Syracuse, 3-0. The season came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Clemson.
• UNH went 5-0-2 on the road last year, highlighted by a 2-1 victory at then-No. 11 Florida International.
• The Wildcats ranked in the top 50 nationally in 13 categories last year, including No. 3 in team goals against average (.643) and eighth in shots per game (15.90).
• Austin Bush is the top returning goal scorer with three successful strikes.
• Erik Lauta is the top returning goalkeeper after posting a 2-0-1 record in four appearances last season with a shutout against Northeastern.
• UNH welcomed 14 newcomers, including a pair of transfers from the University of Virginia.

SERIES HISTORY

• BU leads the all-time series, 24-23-9, after the Wildcats pulled out a 2-1 victory in Durham last season by delivering the go-ahead strike in the 75th minute.
• The Terriers won two years ago at UNH with a 1-0 shutout by withstanding a 23-3 deficit in shot attempts.
• In the last meeting at Nickerson Field in 2021, UNH posted a 2-0 victory with two goals over the final eight minutes of action.
• The teams were members of the America East together from 1987-2012 before BU joined the America East in the summer of 2013.

LOOKING AHEAD

• The Terriers hit the road with a short trek to Northeastern on Tuesday (Aug. 27) with a 6 p.m. start time.
• The teams battled to a 1-1 draw last season at Nickerson Field after the Huskies pulled out a 2-1 home victory in 2022.