Men’s Soccer: Terriers look for revenge on Brown at Nickerson Field

By Akshai Wadhwani

BOSTON, MA  –  Fresh off a 2-1 triumph over American in their inaugural 2018 Patriot League fixture this past Saturday, BU men’s soccer now turns their attention back to nonconference competition as they prepare to face Brown in a Tuesday slate.

The Terriers (2-4-2 overall, 1-0-0 in conference) enjoyed goals from junior Satchel Cortet and sophomore Austin D’Anna in Saturday’s win. They will look to extend a two-match home unbeaten streak to three when the Bears come calling tomorrow evening. The meeting will also give BU one last opportunity to overcome an Ivy League opponent; Brown will serve as their fourth and final challenger out of that conference.

In the continued absence of six-goal forward Matt McDonnell, D’Anna has revved into high gear for the Scarlet and White. The Florida native collected his first career Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week award via an assist to go with his goal against the Eagles, as well as a midweek tally at Harvard. He now sits second in points with five, followed closely by Cortet and freshman Kari Petursson (1 goal, 2 assists each).

Meanwhile, a 1.53 goals against average and 0.784 save percentage hardly do justice to senior goalkeeper Mike Bernardi, who in the past few matches has made numerous incredible saves—including two point-blank stops against American—to keep his team in games.

Brown (3-3) also returned to winning ways on Saturday, squeezing past Rhode Island with a 1-0 overtime win to snap a three-match losing streak. With the result, sophomore goalkeeper Max Gross marked his debut appearance for the Bears by earning the team’s first shutout of the season; after making six stops in that match, he could very well have earned another start over freshman James Swomley, who started Brown’s first five matches for a 1.99 goals against average and a 0.500 save percentage.

Junior midfielder Daniel Schiller heads the visiting offense with three goals and a helper on the year. Although seven other players have contributed points, the goalscoring struggle continues for Brown, with an average of less than a goal per game.

Nevertheless, it is the Bears who lead a storied all-time series with a rather impressive record of 25-15-4. That includes last year’s 2-1 clash in Rhode Island, where they notched the game-winning goal no more than a minute after current sophomore Toti Knutsson equalized from the spot for the Terriers. BU, however, won the last matchup at Nickerson Field—a 2-0 shutout in 2016.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.