The Boston University men’s soccer team suffered its third defeat of the season Tuesday night in a 3-1 loss to Harvard University at Jordan Field.
Last season, the Terriers (3-3-1, 0-0-1 Patriot League) walked away from Nickerson Field after shutting out the Crimson (4-3-1) 3-0. Looking for similar results this time around, eight saves from senior goalkeeper Matt Gilbert and a goal from senior forward Felix De Bona were not enough to help BU find the success it had against this team in September of last year.
The Terriers, who got off to a slow start, couldn’t find the back of the net until the 71st minute after Harvard was already up 2-0 on goals by midfielder Christian Sady and forward Jake Freeman. BU had only one shot in the first half, while Harvard mustered six.
“We showed potential in the first half, but just couldn’t get it all together,” sophomore midfielder T.J. Butzke said.
The second half featured a much more competitive BU offense, as it was able to increase its shot count to 12 in the second half, topping Harvard by three.
In the 71st minute, after the Terriers switched their formation at halftime, freshman midfielder Jerry Ozor delivered a pass into the box that was intended for De Bona. De Bona was brought to the ground on the play and was awarded a penalty kick, which he blasted into the top left corner for a goal, his third of the season.
“The goalie guessed the right way, but the shot was just too good to save,” Butzke said.
With De Bona’s goal being the lone score of the game for the Terriers, the offensive depth often portrayed by BU was stifled by the Harvard defense.
In fact, Tuesday night’s game was the first time BU fell by more than a goal this season.
Junior midfielder Anthony Viteri, reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, was held scoreless for the first time this season after scoring five goals in the first six contests.
Harvard would score once more with less than five minutes to play, on freshman Matthew Glass’s third goal of the year to go up 3-1, putting BU away for good.
Overall, the game served as a learning experience for BU head coach Neil Roberts and his squad, who are coming off of a weekend tie at Bucknell University and a 2-0 victory against Brown University last week.
BU was looking to continue its winning ways against Harvard, who came into Tuesday night’s game with three losses in its past five matches.
“We looked past this midweek game because we have a big conference game over the weekend,” sophomore defender David Riccio said. “It’s important we get three big points against a tough conference opponent and turn around after a tough midweek performance.”
Sophomore midfielder Magnus Benediktsson, who was recognized as last week’s Patriot League Midfielder of the Week, did not play in the game on Tuesday.
“From watching the game, it’s obvious that we sometimes get ahead of ourselves, and we have to get back on track,” Benediktsson said.
The Terriers will resume Patriot League play at home this Saturday against American University, and will look to get back into a groove offensively.
