No. 15 Men's Soccer Begins Title Defense Saturday Night against Stony Brook
Terriers enter conference play with 6-2-2 record
Sophomore Michael Bustamante leads BU with five assists

Sophomore Michael Bustamante leads BU with five assists

Oct. 2, 2009

Watch | Listen | Gametracker | Coach Roberts Previews BU/Stony Brook

BOSTON - Having concluded the non-conference schedule with a 6-2-2 record, the reigning America East regular season and tournament champion Boston University men's soccer team begins its title defense against Stony Brook (1-7-2) on Saturday night with a 7 p.m. start time. Ranked as high as 15th in the polls, the Terriers are on a four-game unbeaten streak, while the Seawolves are looking to snap a seven-match losing skid.

The contest will be broadcast live on WTBU Radio and webcast with live streaming video through BU All-Access.

On Wednesday night at No. 23 Brown, the Terriers came away with a 3-3 tie after recording their fifth multi-goal performance of the season. Both senior Samuel Appiah and sophomore Stephen Knox recorded their second goals of the season in the contest, while sophomore Colin Henry tallied his first career score.

Appiah also had an assist in the game and is now second on the team with seven assists. A junior, reigning America East Player of the Week Aaron O'Neal still leads the squad with seven goals for 16 points, while sophomore Michael Bustamante has five assists.

 


 

 

Defensively, senior Hrafn Davidsson has five shutouts on the season along with a 0.67 goals against average and a .837 save percentage. Last year in his first season as the full-time starter, he allowed 10 goals against nine opponents. Before Wednesday's draw at Brown, he had only given up four goals through nine contests.

The Seawolves are looking for their second win of the year and first since winning at Bryant, 3-0, on Sept. 6. Since then, they earned a 1-1 draw at then-No. 1 St. John's and dropped decisions to Seton Hall (3-2), Long Island (2-1 OT), Eastern Illinois (2-0), Evansville (5-3) and Adelphi (2-1). Their second tie came at Quinnipiac on Sept. 23.

Berian Gobeil and Leonardo Fernandes lead Stony Brook's offense with three goals each along with two assists apiece. Wilber Bonilla also has three scores on the year. At goalie, time has been split between freshmen Stefan Manz and Anthony Rogic. Manz has a 1.97 GAA and .565 save percentage, while Rogic has a 2.11 GAA and .667 save percentage.

The two teams are meeting for the ninth time in a rivalry dating back to 2001 that BU leads, 5-3. Last season in New York, Bustamante scored the game winner off an assist from O'Neal. Davidsson and Joe Cullaro each played a half and combined for five saves in the shutout victory. The Terriers are 3-1 at Nickerson, earning a 2-1 victory in 2007 and dropping a 2-0 decision in 2005.

BU will next host New Hampshire on Wednesday (Oct. 7) at 7 p.m.