Looking for its third straight victory and a berth in the Patriot League Tournament, the Boston University men’s soccer team came up empty in a 3-1 loss to American University in Washington, D.C.
The Eagles (5-7-5, 3-3-2 Patriot League) received goals from freshmen Kibu Mbaluku and Chris Fanet, along with one from defender Stephen Hauschild.
On the Terriers’ (6-9-1, 3-5 Patriot League) side of the ball, the lone goal came from junior forward Dominique Badji in the 71st minute when he placed a header into the back of the net on an assist from senior midfielder Anthony Ciccone. The combination of Badji and Ciccone has been prominent for the Terriers all season, but the two have been even more efficient as of late.
Four of Badji’s six goals for the season have come over the last three games while Ciccone has three assists in that same span.
Badji’s scoring streak has pushed him into the top five in the Patriot League in points, shots attempted, goals and points per game. Meanwhile, Ciccone has been a constant atop the assists category in Patriot League throughout the season. He is second in total assists and assists per game in the conference.
Badji finished with a game-high total of eight shots, including six shots on goal. No one else in the game had more than three shots on net.
The goal from Badji cut American’s lead from 2-0 to 2-1, giving the Terriers a comeback chance until Fanet headed in a crossing pass in the 81st minute to seal the match for American.
BU edged out American in shots and corner kicks, 18-12 and 5-3 respectively, despite falling behind on the scoreboard.
American goalkeeper Billy Knutsen had a strong match in net, finishing the game with seven saves, his highest save total since Sept. 28 versus Lehigh University.
The Eagles also had a high number of yellow cards during the game with seven, something not new to the team, as American is second in the Patriot League in that category. At game’s end, American led in fouls with 20 while BU conceded 12.
Freshman midfielder David Asbjornsson came out in the 31st minute and did not return for the remainder of the game. This was a big blow to the Terriers’ defense as Asbjornsson generally plays the full time in most contests. Without him helping out the Terriers defenders, BU struggled to contain American forwards.
The loss put the Terriers in seventh place in the Patriot League standings, just one spot below the threshold to make the conference playoffs, as the top six teams get a berth in the Patriot League Tournament.
Four playoffs spots have already been clinched, leaving American University and Colgate University for Terriers to attempt to displace. BU upended Colgate (4-12-2, 3-4-1 Patriot League) 3-0 in their previous match, but the Raiders hold an edge over the Terriers by one point in the standings.
Although they are in the seventh spot, the Terriers are in control of their playoff destiny going into their final game of the regular season against Bucknell University. If the Terriers pull out a victory against the Bison (10-5-1, 4-3-1), then they would earn the sixth and final playoff spot.
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