No Faux-Hawk, No Problem

by Lee Feiner

Nickerson Field was a black hole of energy Wednesday evening as the Boston University Terriers took the field against the Crusaders of Holy Cross in front of 31 fans when the first second ticked off the clock. The dearth of support did not cause BU to falter however, riding an early goal by senior midfielder Richy Dorman (’10) and a header by junior forward Aaron O’Neal (’11) to a 2-0 victory.

The first tally was set up by a Samuel Appiah (’10) cross to sophomore midfielder Ben Berube (’12), who had his shot stopped by Crusaders’ goal keeper Thomas Booth. Booth failed to control the shot, however, and Dorman (’10) put the loose ball in the net.

Holy Cross was unable to mount any kind of consistent offensive pressure and their back line collapsed once again when Dorman played a long cross to freshman forward Ade Akinsanya (’13) who took one touch and played a gorgeous cross onto the head of O’Neal (’11). The team scoring leader had no problems controlling the direction of the header after shedding the faux-hawk he has rocked all season.

Despite the easy victory,Head Coach Neil Roberts was not all that pleased with his team’s first half effort. He felt that, “The pace was a little bit too slow,” and that while he was pleased with how the Terriers controlled possession, did not like the pace his team played at.

Freshman midfielder Nick Prunier (’13) quietly registered four shots and sophomore midfielder Ryan Shea (’12) managed five shots of his own in a game where the reserves had a chance to see extended minutes. BU dominated every statistical category, out-shooting the Crusaders 27-5 and winning seven corner kicks to Holy Cross’ two, as they dispatched the intra-state rival with ease.