Men's Soccer, New Hampshire Set for Wednesday AE Semifinal Showdown
Terriers look to avenge lone conference loss of the regular season
Freshman Derek McCaffrey tallied his first career goal at UNH

Freshman Derek McCaffrey tallied his first career goal at UNH

Nov. 9, 2010

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BOSTON - Playing for the first time in the month of November, top-seeded Boston University men's soccer team will host fifth-seeded New Hampshire in the semifinals of the America East tournament Wednesday at Nickerson Field with action slated to begin at 7 p.m. The Terriers (11-4-1) have won eight of their last nine games with the lone loss coming against the Wildcats (8-5-5) in double overtime back on Oct. 23.

BU enters the tournament seeking its third title since 2004 and eighth overall. Led by the league's coaching staff of the year, the Terriers won the program's 10th regular season title with a combination of stellar offense and defensive play. First-team all-conference forwards Aaron O'Neal and Ben Berube have provided the spark with eight goals apiece, while first-team midfielder Stephen Knox has tallied six assists. The offense as a whole ranks 17th in the nation averaging 2.0 goals a contest.

On the defensive end, AE Defender of the Year Colin Henry and Rookie of the Year Kelvin Madzongwe anchor a backline that has helped the Terriers shut out eight opponents. All-rookie team honoree Brandon Briggs has started all 16 games at the goalkeeper position and ranks 44th in the nation with a 0.882 goals against average while holding a .741 save percentage.

Avoiding costly miscues and getting on the board first will be crucial if the Terriers are to advance, as the UNH coaching staff focuses on defense, playing several defenders back. Led by AE Goalkeeper of the Year Colin O'Donnell, the Wildcats rank third in the nation for save percentage (0.883) and sixth in team goals against average (0.55). In total, they have appeared in 11 overtime games and have a 5-1-5 record when advancing to an extra session.


 

 

On the offensive end, UNH ranks 187th in scoring offense at 0.72 goals per game. Both defensive backs Brad Hilton and Steven Palumbo have a team-high three goals apiece, along with a team-high two assists. They defeated Binghamton, 1-0, in the first round of the AE tournament, but the Bearcats were credited with an own goal.

The Wildcats and Terriers are meeting in the league tournament for just the fourth time. In 2007, they went to penalty kicks during the semifinals at Nickerson Field, and UNH came out the victor with a 4-2 edge after a scoreless 110 minutes of action. BU captured the conference title in 1993 and 1994.

Wednesday's winner will advance to the championship game on Saturday against either UMBC or Stony Brook.

The men's soccer team will look to continue an impressive Fall for the BU Department of Athletics, as both soccer teams and the ice hockey squads have combined for a 35-4-3 record since Sept. 16.