BU Men’s Soccer Looks to Stay Atop the Patriot League Standings at Lafayette

By: David Souza

EASTON, Pennsylvania — Coming off of a 2-0 loss against Brown last Tuesday in Providence, the Boston University Terriers (8-3-1, 3-0-1 PL) are looking to return to their winning ways Saturday afternoon against the Leopards of Lafayette (5-3-5, 2-1-1 PL).

Lafayette enters the contest with seven conference points, sitting third place behind only Navy and BU.

Offensively the Leopards will be led by junior midfielder Ryan Egan. The East Northport, New York-native has two goals and one assist this season and will look to add to that trend at Fisher Stadium in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Also leading the charge for Lafayette will be junior Ben Marks. The 5’11” midfielder is currently first on the team in assists with three.

Both Marks and Egan, who have combined to register 27 total shots on goal, will definitely be the catalysts for a team that has failed to score more than one goal over the past four games.

While their overall record may not reflect it, the Leopards are a good soccer team and will be a formidable opponent for the Terriers on Saturday. Their recent 1-0 victory over Bucknell, a team that BU was only able to draw at Nickerson Field, exemplifies the skill of this Lafayette team, especially when they are within the confines of their own stadium.

In net for the Leopards will be sophomore Brad Seeber. The Avon Old Farms alum has played in eleven games this season for Lafayette and currently maintains a goals-against average of 0.42 and a save percentage of .875 to go along with his six shutouts on the year.

Lehigh will be welcoming the Terriers to campus for the first time since their 2-0 shutout of BU in 2013. Last time these two teams met, Boston University pulled out a 3-1 victory at Nickerson Field.

BU will definitely look to its big offensive weapons of Anthony Viteri and Felix De Bona to get the offense going. The duo currently has 23 combined points thus far and has 43 and 23 shots apiece.

After being shutout for the first time all season, the Terriers are looking to bounce back and extend their thirteen game Patriot League unbeaten streak.

Playing on the road has been a bit of an issue for BU as they have gone 4-2-0 away from Nickerson Field compared to 4-1-1 at home. As for the Leopards, Lafayette currently sits at 4-1-2 at home thus far.

Expect Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week Matt Gilbert to be on his game for the Terriers as the redshirt-junior currently boasts a 0.89 goals-against average along with a .847 save percentage. His five shutouts on the year are one shy of a career high for the 6’4” net minder and he will look to tie that record on Saturday against a team that has found goals hard to come by.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and can be seen live on the Patriot League Network.