Boston College Athletics
Men's Soccer Hosts Clemson Friday Night
September 11, 2014 | Men's Soccer
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Match Notes
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - The Boston College men's soccer team will host Clemson on Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Newton Campus Field in the ACC opener for both teams.
BC HOSTS CLEMSON IN ACC OPENER
• Boston College will host Clemson on Friday night at 7 p.m. in the first ACC match of the season.
• Clemson won the meeting between the two teams last year, 3-2, at Historic Riggs Field.
• BC has started the season 3-0-1 and has three shutouts. The last time it started out undefeated in its first four matches of the season was in 2011.
• The Tigers have started the season 1-3-0 with their lone win coming against Radford in the season opener. Clemson has lost three straight with all three coming on the road (two away, one neutral).
STIFLING DEFENSE
• Boston College has allowed just one goal in four matches this season - an own goal in the season opener against Iona.
• Junior Alex Kapp has recorded a shutout in each of the last three matches. His shutout streak currently sits at 301:30 heading into ACC play.
• Boston College had just one shutout last season.
• It is the first time BC recorded three consecutive shutouts since the 2012 season. It is also the first time since 2007 that the Eagles notched three clean sheets in the first four games.
• The last time Boston College had four shut outs in a row was back in 1982.
• BC ranks second in the ACC with three shutouts. No. 20 Syracuse has opened the season with four.
• Kapp ranks third in the ACC in goals against average (0.24) and fourth in save percentage (.889).
LAST TIME OUT
• Sophomore Isaac Normesinu notched a goal and an assist to lead Boston College to a 3-0 win against Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon at the Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium.
• Junior Derrick Boateng and sophomore Zeiko Lewis provided the other goals for the Eagles. Junior Alex Kapp recorded his third-consecutive shutout and has not allowed the opposition to score all year. The only goal BC has given up was an own goal in the season opener.
• Boston College controlled the pace in the early going, taking the first three shots of the match in the initial 15 minutes. Senior Cole DeNormandie and Lewis both had nice chances that sailed past the left post.
• Rhode Island had a great opportunity to score midway through the half. A cross from the left side of the field made its way over to the right side of the box where Joey Cain was waiting wide open. He faced Kapp but his shot missed the right post.
• Normesinu put BC on the board in the 37th minute. With his back to the goal, he turned and fired from the top of the box. His shot was placed perfectly as it beat the diving keeper.
• Rhode Island nearly scored the equalizer a minute and a half into the second half. Dante Lamb found an open Carlo Davids on the left side of the box. He fired a shot at Kapp who dove to his right and got a hand on it. The ball deflected off the post behind him and stayed out of the net.
• The Eagles controlled most of the possession in the half to keep the lead safe and had a 7-4 edge in shots. The lead doubled in the 87th minute with Boateng's goal. Lewis and Normesinu started the attack on the right side and Normesinu sent a pass into the box. Boateng was by himself and beat the keeper to make the lead 2-0.
• Two minutes later, Lewis handled the ball at the top of the box and scored the Eagles' third and final goal of the match.
LAST TIME vs. CLEMSON
• Boston College scored goals in the 70th and 85th minutes, but its rally fell short as No. 14 Clemson held on to beat Boston College, 3-2, on October 25, 2013 at Historic Riggs Field.
• Cole DeNormandie and Giuliano Frano scored the Boston College goals in the second half. Zeiko Lewis was credited with an assist on both goals.
• Clemson held a 14-10 edge in shots in the match and had an 8-3 advantage in the first half.
• The Tigers recorded four of the first five shots and converted one early in the 17th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Manolo Sanchez scored with an assist from Ara Amirkhanian to give Clemson the early edge. T.J. Casner doubled the lead in the 39th minute when he sent home a pass from Thales Moreno, and Clemson took a 2-0 lead into the locker room.
• The Eagles took three of the first four shots in the second half but it was Clemson which added to the lead in the 55th minute. Bobby Belair scored with an assist from Thomas McNamara to make it 3-0.
• From that point, Boston College began to gain some traction when DeNormandie scored a goal in the 70th minute. Clemson's Andrew Tarbell made a save on a shot by Frano four minutes later, but the next shot of the match made it a one goal game. Frano found the back of the net when he received a pass from the ACC assist leader in the 85th minute.
• The last shot of the match came in the 87th minute when Frano was high of the target.
• Frano and Lewis both took a match-high three shots for the Eagles.
• Tarbell was credited with one save in goal for Clemson while Alex Kapp made three saves.
EMERGING OFFENSE
• Boston College has controlled the pace of play against each of its opponents this season and has outscored them, 8-1.
• The Eagles also have a significant advantage in shots (66-29) and corner kicks (31-12).
• Sophomore Isaac Normesinu leads the team with three goals and seven points. No player on Boston College scored more than two goals last season.
• Normesinu ranks second in the ACC in goals and points. He is tied for the conference lead with 15 shots.
• Junior Derrick Boateng and sophomore Zeiko Lewis both have two goals and an assist. Boateng has taken two shots on goal and both have found the back of the net.
• Boateng and Lewis rank fourth in the conference in goals and fifth in points.
• As a team, BC ranks second in the ACC in goals scored (8), third in assists (7) and third in points (23).
NORMESINU'S START
• Sophomore Isaac Normesinu has led the Boston College offense so far this season with three goals, an assist and seven points. His goals and points total lead the team.
• Normesinu has hit the back of the net in each of the last three matches. He had a goal and an assist on Sunday against Rhode Island.
• The Ghanaian product ranks second in the ACC in goals and points. He is tied for the conference lead with 15 shots.
• As a freshman last season, Normesinu had two goals and four assists.
NANA
• Junior Derrick Boateng, better known as Nana, was an ACC All-Freshman Team selection in 2012. Last season, he recorded two goals and two assists.
• He has nearly matched his offensive output from last year, notching two goals and an assist in four matches this season.
• All five of his points come in the last two games and he contributed to both goals in a 2-0 win at Quinnipiac.
• Boateng ranks fourth in the conference in goals and fifth in points.
LEWIS' FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN
• Sophomore Zeiko Lewis led Boston College with 11 assists and 17 points last season.
• He earned numerous accolades including: NSCAA All-South Atlantic Second Team, ACC Freshman of the Year, All-ACC Second Team, All-ACC Freshman Team and Soccer America All-Freshman First Team.
• Lewis led the ACC in assists (11) and assists per game (0.61) and ranked 10th in the conference in points (17).
• He ranked third in the country in assists per game and fourth in assists.
• Lewis was the only freshman in the top 15 in the country in total assists and in the top 20 in assists per game.
• The only other Eagle to reach 10 or more assists in less than 20 matches was Jorge Montoya in 1983.
• This season, Lewis has two goals and an assist. He ranks fourth in the conference in goals and fifth in points.
NEWCOMERS MAKING IMPACT
• Five newcomers have seen time on the field in the first four games.
• Freshmen Henry Balf, Mohammed Moro and Len Zeugner have each started all four contests. Zeugner, a defender, scored a goal in the 2-0 win against Fordham.
• Junior Phil Sandgren and freshman Idrissa Bangura have also played in all four games. Sandgren has three starts while Bangura has one.
TOUGH AT HOME
• BC has been hard to beat at the Newton Campus Field over the last few seasons.
• Boston College is 26-10-7 in its last 43 regular season home games dating back to 2009 and is 27-11-8 overall in Newton since 2009.
• BC has dominated at home during Atlantic Coast Conference contests since joining the league in 2005.
• After a disappointing start in 2005 when BC went 0-3-1 at home in conference matches, the Eagles are 19-8-7 since 2006.
BEDOYA IN THE WORLD CUP
• Former Boston College men's soccer standout Alejandro Bedoya and the United States Men's National Team advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup before falling in extra time to Belgium, 2-1.
• The United States finished second in Group G with four points and advanced over Portugal on goal differential.
• Bedoya played in all four matches in the midfield and started three of them, including the contest against Belgium.
• The US and Belgium were scoreless in the first 90 minutes which forced 30 more minutes of extra time. Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne broke the tie in the 93rd minute and then the Red Devils added to the lead 12 minutes later with a Romelu Lukaku goal. The United States responded in the 107th minute when young Julian Green scored on his first touch of the game. A flurry of late equalizing chances for the stars and stripes fell short, and Belgium advanced to the quarterfinals.
• Bedoya's star continued to shine when he scored the only goal of the match to lead the United States Men's National Team to a 1-0 victory against the Czech Republic on September 3 at Generali Arena.
• Bedoya scored unassisted in the 39th minute which proved to be the game-winner. Mix Diskerud picked up a loose ball in the midfield to start the U.S. attack. He shot from 17 yards out and the Czech keeper made the initial save. The rebound fell to Bedoya, who slipped the shot past a defender and into the open net.
• Bedoya emerged for the USMNT during the CONCACAF Gold Cup as the U.S. won its fifth title on July 28, 2013 at Chicago's Soldier Field.
• Bedoya was instrumental in the semifinal and final matches, recording three assists on four American goals. He assisted on both of Landon Donovan's goals - including the game-winner - in the semifinal against Honduras, a 3-1 victory on July 24 in Dallas. Watch the two goals by clicking here and here.
• He also sparked the only goal in a 1-0 triumph over Panama in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final on July 28.
• The two assists against Honduras were the first two of his international career.
• Bedoya has 33 career caps and currently plays for FC Nantes in France's Ligue 1.
