Terriers Aggressiveness Key to Victory

by Nathaniel Lowenthal

The Boston University Terriers men’s soccer team finally showed some life on offense in Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Holy Cross. The team had gone two consecutive games without scoring a goal (Columbia was credited for an own goal on Sunday; it does not count towards the Terriers total), and in the 1-0 loss to Boston College last Friday, the Terriers offense was slow and sloppy.

Wednesday, however, was a different story. The favorites against the Holy Cross Crusaders, the Terriers had their way on offense. They struck twice and struck quickly, with goals from senior midfielder Richy Dorman (’10), his first of the season and junior forward Aaron O’Neal (’11), his team leading fifth. The offense would not put another one past Holy Cross, but the offensive blitzkrieg never really stopped.

Though Head Coach Neil Roberts was impressed, he said that the Terriers’ execution was far from perfect. “We weren’t fully clicking tonight, but we were close. The pace was a little too slow for us in the first half. Once we got the two goals in the first half we slowed down… I would’ve liked for us to have picked up the play in the first half,” Roberts said.

One player who stood out with his aggressiveness was sophomore midfielder Ryan Shea (’12). Shea (’12) has come off the bench for BU this season, and with an in-game injury to freshman forward Ade Akinsanya (’13) (status for next game unknown), Shea saw an increase in minutes. Though Shea’s performance wasn’t flawless - he hesitated inside the box when he had a clean strike at the net - he was constantly attacking and looking to get the ball towards the net.

Roberts' noticed Shea’s play as well. “He got by the defense sometimes in the first half… it’s been what we’ve been trying to get him to do all year long,” he said.
It was not only Shea who played aggressively; the entire team’s attacking style of play is what the Terriers should carry over from this victory. They have been criticized this season for playing too sloppy for a team that has a national ranking. Tonight, however, their passes were much crisper, and with the aggressive play, the team looked much sharper.

The Terriers need to take the way they played against Holy Cross and try to match the aggressiveness each game. The risk of over-aggressiveness may burn the Terriers once or twice, but it will prevent sloppy losses like those earlier this season to BC and Harvard. With conference play starting up shortly, BU must find a strategy and stick to it if they want to repeat as America East champions. My vote is toward aggressive action up and down the pitch.