Men’s Soccer Tops FDU, 1-0, in First Round of NCAAs
Senior Jin Oh's goal keeps Terriers' season alive
Jin Oh(CAS’09) recorded his second-consecutive game-winning goal to help the BostonUniversity men’s soccer team advance past Fairleigh Dickinson, 1-0, in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Nickerson Field on November 21, as temperatures dipped below 30 degrees. With thevictory, the Terriers (12-5-3) extended their unbeaten streak to 10games, while the Northeast Conference champion Knights saw theirsuccessful season end at 13-6-2.
Oh’s lone goal occurred with 50 seconds remaining in the first half, after he received a pass inside the box from Matthew Shea (SED’11). He made a quick strike behind diving keeper Majdi Zaineh, who finished the game with four saves. Hrafn Davidsson (ENG’09) needed to make only two saves to preserve his 8th shutout of the season and the team’s 10th total.
The first-round win represented the program’s first victory in theNCAA tournament since 1994, when the Terriers defeated Harvard, 2-0,before falling to Brown in the second round. BU previously advanced to theround of 32, in 2004, but that was only after winning a 4-3 shootoutduring penalty kicks against Dartmouth.
Fairleigh Dickinson had the 16th-ranked scoring offense in thecountry (2.0 goals per game), led by junior Samson Malijani, who issecond in the nation with a 2.16 points per game average. He enteredthe game with 18 goals and 5 assists, but first-team America East All-Conference back Dan Schultz (CAS’09), 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. Stephen Knox (CGS’10) had five attempts, while America East Midfielder and Rookie of the Year Michael Bustamante (CGS’10) had four.
BU will next visit number 3 seed St. John’s (N.Y.) on Tuesday, November 25,with the start time set for 5 p.m. The two teams met in September at St. John’s, a contest the Red Storm won, 1-0.
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