Senior Jin Oh recorded his second-consecutive game-winning goal to help the Boston University men's soccer team advance past Fairleigh Dickinson, 1-0, during the first round of the NCAA tournament at Nickerson Field on Friday evening in temperatures that dipped below 30 degrees. With the victory, the Terriers (12-5-3) extend their unbeaten streak to 10 games, while the Northeast conference champion Knights see their successful season end at 13-6-2.
The first-round win represented the program's first victory in the NCAA tournament since 1994, when the Terriers defeated Harvard, 2-0, before falling to Brown in the second. BU previously advanced to the round of 32 in 2004, but that was only after winning a 4-3 shootout during penalty kicks against Dartmouth.
Fairleigh Dickinson featured the 16th-ranked scoring offense in the country (2.0 goals per game), led by junior Samson Malijani, who is second in the nation with a 2.16 points per game average. He entered the game with 18 goals and five assists, but first-team America East all-conference back Dan Schultz with assistance from his teammates held the forward to just one shot the entire contest.
Prior to Oh's score, the Terriers had a 6-1 edge in shots and eventually finished ahead, 16-8. Freshman Stephen Knox had five attempts, while America East Midfielder and Rookie of the Year Michael Bustamante had four.
BU will next visit the No. 3 seed, St. John's (NY) on Tuesday (Nov. 25) with the start time set for 5 p.m. The two teams met earlier in the year at St. John's, a contest the Red Storm won, 1-0, back on Friday, Sept. 12.