Aug. 15, 2012

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Having captured three of the last four conference regular season titles, the Boston University men's soccer team has been picked to finish second in the America East this year, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon.

Recording 43 points, the Terriers received two of seven possible first-place votes from the league's head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own team. Stony Brook, last year's tournament champion, was selected to repeat after garnering 48 points and the other six first-place votes.

Hartford came in third with 32 points, followed by UMBC, just one point behind in fourth with 31 points, and Vermont in fifth with 22 points. Albany and Binghamton tied for sixth place (17 points) while New Hampshire rounded out the eight-team poll (14).

Led by 28th-year head coach Neil Roberts, the Terriers bring back 14 letterwinners and eight starters from last year's regular season champion squad, including America East Defender of the Year Kelvin Madzongwe, who helped BU post a league-best 0.99 team goals against average. Also back for the Terriers is Michael Bustamante, a three-time All-League First Team honoree who missed all of last season due to injury, and 2011 Rookie of the Year Dominique Badji, who led the team in goals (5), assists (3) and points (13).

Facing one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in the country, BU will compete against eight NCAA teams from a year ago, starting with a trip to St. John's on Friday, Aug. 24. The Terriers will host Brown in the home opener on Thursday, Sept. 13, at Nickerson Field.