Departments
Sports
|
Week of 24 October 1997 |
Vol. I, No. 9 |
Sports
|
BU hopes for first win in Canine Classic dogfightGame Preview Football by Brian Fitzgerald Rhett, the Boston University mascot, will celebrate his 75th birthday on Friday, Oct. 24, (see Calendar, page 7) but the Terrier could receive one of his presents the following day: a football victory over Northeastern in the sixth annual Canine Classic. A triumph over the Huskies would indeed be a great gift for Rhett, especially since BU hasn't beaten Northeastern in three years, and it would be BU's first win of the season. On October 18 BU was mauled by Maine, 62-29, the team's worst defeat in 20 years. The Terriers' ordeal in Orono might provide motivation for them to take their anger out on Northeastern. Plus, they will play on Homecoming Weekend, and the stands will be filled. But in the teams' last two meetings, Boston University didn't even score a touchdown. Now comes more bad news: BU will be without the services of center Travis Raitt (SMG'99), who suffered ligament damage in his right knee during the Maine massacre. Raitt's effective blocking on the offensive line has been one of the few bright spots in the Terriers 0-6 season and has enabled running back Roger Harriott (CGS'00) to rush for more than 100 yards in 6 straight games, tying the University record set by Paul Lewis in 1984. In NCAA Division 1-AA, Harriott is ranked sixth in rushing average with 131.6 yards a game. Harriott isn't the only BU player among the nation's leaders in his position. Punter Brad Costello (MET'98) is third in the country with a 46.0-yard-per-kick average. "Brad Costello is a weapon because he can give us field position," says Coach Tom Masella. "I think that if he continues kicking the way he has, he can be an NFL punter." To bring the Canine Classic trophy back to BU, the Terriers must stop a tenacious Northeastern pass rush that knocked New Hampshire quarterback Matt Cassano out of the game on October 18 and helped the Huskies to their second conference win. Northeastern is 2-2 in the Atlantic 10 and 4-2 overall. To be sure, the trophy will stay on Huntington Avenue if BU lets its opponent take a 21-0 lead early in the game, which is what happened in Maine. |
Athletes of the Week
Sigurd Dalen and Karl Rasmussen
Men's soccer forward Sigurd Dalen (SMG'99) enjoyed his second collegiate hat trick on October 18, scoring three of BU's four goals against Hartford and accounting for half of the Terriers' shots in their 4-0 victory over the Hawks.
Dalen, from Oslo, Norway, is now third in the conference in scoring with eight goals and six assists -- just ahead of teammate Nick Bone (SMG'98), who has eight goals and four assists. In fact, it was Bone who assisted on Dalen's third goal, with 10 minutes left in the game.
Dalen was named America East Player of the Week for his offensive production, which enabled third-place BU (4-1 in the conference) to stay within striking distance of first-place Hofstra (5-0).
The 1996 America East Rookie of the Year, Dalen's first hat trick also led to a 4-0 victory last year. That win, over Rhode Island, had the first of three straight game-winning goals scored by Dalen.
At the New England Cross Country Championships in Franklin Park October 18, BU runner Karl Rasmussen (CAS'98) finished first in the five-mile run, leading the Terriers to place 6th in a field of 36 colleges.
In fact, Rasmussen's time of 23:38 broke the meet record. Rasmussen, from Haugesund, Norway, won the same race as a freshman and a sophomore, but sat out last year's meet because of an Achilles tendon injury.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||