July 11, 2011
Coming in at No. 11 in this year's Terrier Twelve is the Boston University men's soccer team capturing its second America East regular season title in three years. The season had several other highlights, including the team earning a 2-0 victory over UMBC in front of a national audience on the Fox Soccer Channel and midfielder Ben Havey receiving CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America accolades.
The Terriers earned their 10th regular season title with a roster featuring a mix of experience and youth, and the league rewarded the players for their efforts. Junior Colin Henry received AE Defender of the Year honors, while fellow back Kelvin Madzongwe earned BU's third Rookie of the Year award in the past four seasons. In total, BU had a league-high seven all-conference honorees, not including the four all-rookie team members.
Leading the Terriers to an 11-5-1 overall record and 6-1 mark in conference play, Neil Roberts and his assistants were tabbed the AE Coaching Staff of the Year. About to enter his 27th season at the helm, Roberts finished the year with his 25th winning season and is now just two wins shy of reaching the 300-win milestone.
The backline is an example of where Roberts needed the freshmen to step up in order for the team to succeed. Serving as the anchor, the upperclassman Henry gelled quickly with Madzongwe and the two redshirt-freshmen, Max White and Brandon Briggs. Replacing Hrafn Davidsson, who had been the keeper for the previous three seasons, Briggs allowed just three goals in league action, as the team ended the year with eight shutouts.
Once the conference schedule began, BU found its groove defensively and blanked the following league members: Hartford, Vermont, UMBC, Binghamton and Albany. More impressively though, the offense scored multiple goals in six of the seven games. Senior Aaron O'Neal and junior Ben Berube led the way by recording 20 of their combined 38 points against the conference opponents.
Named the AE Fans' Choice Player of the Year, Berube tallied three game winners during the stretch and finished with 21 points off eight goals and five assists. O'Neal added eight goals on the season and concluded his career 10th all-time at BU with 27 goals. Junior Stephen Knox set them up with five of his team-high six assists in conference play.
A co-captain with O'Neal, the midfielder Havey was the glue that kept the team together. He would be all over the field, whether helping the backline stop a counter attack or aiding the forwards on the offensive end. Becoming the ninth-ever Terrier to earn Academic All-America honors, he finished the season with five goals and five assists for 15 points, while also helping BU post a 0.86 goals against average, 34th-best mark in the country.
The Terriers suffered heartbreak in the semifinals of the conference tournament by falling to New Hampshire, 1-0, in overtime. The Wildcats featured the Goalkeeper of the Year Colin O'Donnell and reached their 12th overtime contest of the season, finishing with a mark of 6-1-5. BU could not find the net despite leading in shot attempts, 23-10.
With the tough loss, BU ended the season with an RPI of 40 and was one of the last teams left out of the NCAA tournament. Still, the season was a memorable one, as the Terriers outscored conference opponents, 17-3, during the regular season, while also posting wins over then-No. 20 Harvard and Big East member Seton Hall.
The Terrier Twelve
No. 12 - Alford Named AE Player of the Year, Leads Women's Basketball to Title Game
A Letter from Athletic Director Mike Lynch
