The Boston University men's soccer team tallied two early goals and added a second-half score to extend its unbeaten streak to six games, as the Terriers earned a 3-0 shutout victory at UMBC on Saturday afternoon. With the win, BU improves to 8-5-3 overall and 5-1-1 in the America East, while the Retrievers drop to 6-7-2 and 1-4-1 in the league.
Less than seven minutes later at 12:25, freshman Ben Berube dribbled from the right and rifled a shot inside the far left post for his second-career goal. BU entered the locker room leading UMBC in shots, 7-1.
At 68:23, Aaron O'Neal added the team's third goal on Knox's second assist of the game. Before the sixth game in the series between the two teams, BU had never scored more than two goals in a contest with both occasions happening at home.
UMBC had an opportunity to avoid the shutout at 83:44 when BU was called with a foul inside its box, but senior Hrafn Davidsson was able to make the save on Andrew Bulls' penalty shot to earn his fifth solo shutout of the year and the team's seventh overall.
"I think the first half was probably as well as we've played all season," said head coach Neil Roberts. "We controlled the ball and created chances from the start to finish. In the second half, we kind of took our foot off the pedal, and they came at us strong. We weren't able to control it as much as would like, but Hrafn played well for us."
"What I like about the team is that different days, it's different people," Roberts added. "One day it's Richy (Dorman), one day it's Tommy (Strackhouse) and another day it's somebody else. We have a balanced group. Ben's been trying to get his game back and had a good day, and Aaron had a strong game as well. Different people stepped up, which is good to see."
Both Davidsson and UMBC's Steven Key finished with three saves each, as the Terriers edged the Retrievers in shots, 10-9, and corner kicks, 2-1.
BU now has a week off to prepare for its final regular season game against Hartford next Saturday (Nov. 1) at Nickerson Field. The Senior Day ceremony will precede the kickoff slated for 1 p.m.
"The time off couldn't have come at a better time," said Roberts. "We have guys who are banged up, so this will give them some recovery time. Hartford plays good soccer and they along with Albany have made the most improvement from last season, so it should be an exciting game."