Last fall, just eight and a half minutes separated the Boston University men’s soccer team from their first victory over Boston College since 2012.

Then-junior forward Damola Salami received a deflected cross from freshman midfielder Markus Ramsey, took a touch and gave the Terriers the lead in the 81st minute. The end of a double-digit drought was materializing.

Five minutes later, BC defender Diego Ochoa leveled the score, and that result would hold through the final whistle, extending the drought to 11 seasons.

The year prior, an intense back-and-forth saga in Newton left the local rivals at two goals apiece by the 53rd minute. 

Throughout the rest of the game, it seemed the Terriers would break through. Midfielder Colin Innes forced a save from BC goalkeeper Leon Musial in the 67th, before Musial punched a well-struck 86th-minute header from freshman midfielder Luke Dunne over the crossbar. 

With just over two minutes to play, then-junior midfielder and forward Eitan Rosen’s pass penetrated the six-yard box before being tapped by Dunne and then tapped into the goal by then-sophomore forward Alex Bonnington.

The offside flag came up, the final minutes played out and the game ended 2-2.

“Results like that fuel us,” said senior defender Quin DeLaMater. “We know that we’ve gotten the better of them for the majority of these matches, and we can beat them, so we’re just looking to work on our game, so we’re just as sharp to finally put the nail in the coffin and beat them.”

You’d have to go back more than a decade to see the last time the Terriers defeated the Eagles — a 1-0 result in Newton, and the program’s 500th win.

The last home win was in 1996. 

That season, the Terriers won the America East tournament as the No. 4 seed, qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in seven years.

Dating back to 1967, this is one of the oldest continuous matchups in program history and has even more layers to it, as the rivalry extends past soccer into other sports and the larger campus culture. 

“It’s the Battle of Comm. Ave.,” said Head Coach Kevin Nylen. “When it comes to these games, our guys don’t need much [extra] to get up, and it’s pretty consistent across the board for all sports.”

After losing two of the first three contests, the Terriers stayed at or above .500 against BC through 2004. They were helped by multiple successful streaks, including a six-game unbeaten run through November 1990 that featured a 3-2 win in the NCAA tournament, and a shorter four-game stretch from 1993 to 1996.

 One of BU’s largest margins of victory came against BC in 1970 — the Terriers shutting out and putting seven past the Eagles.

It’s in recent history that the record turns sour. 

In the 21st century, BU’s record against BC is just 2-18-4, including a 4-0 thrashing in Chestnut Hill in 2010 that saw four different Eagles beat the Terrier goalkeeper in a span of 10 minutes. 

This result was replicated in Boston seven years later when BC put four over the Terriers despite an eight-shot deficit.

In 2007, the all-time series record dropped below .500 — and it hasn’t gotten back since.

A majority of this history pre-dates Nylen. In fact, Nylen actually held post as an assistant coach at BC in 2010 and 2011, both seasons seeing the Eagles in the NCAA tournament and both seasons seeing the Eagles defeat the Terriers in non-conference, regular-season competition.

“It was always spoken about in the locker room at that time, how difficult it is in those [games],” Nylen said. “It was a circled event then, when I was on the other side of it, and it’s a circled event now.”

Named Terrier head coach in 2020, Nylen has been all scarlet and white since, even helping the Terriers achieve their first shutout in a decade against the Eagles in the 2022 season — but no goals fell for BU in that match either.

BU’s record against BC under Nylen is 0-1-3, and with a win this year, it could go to .500.

“Last year, I wasn’t able to experience it due to injury, but I felt the atmosphere just from seeing and watching on the bench,” said sophomore forward Dylan Williams. “I’m really excited to partake in it this year for my first time and excited to go out there and try and get [the win].”

With clear intention set, the Terriers can turn the recent record around starting tomorrow, with kickoff in Newton set for 7 p.m.

“It’s a local derby, so it means a little more,” DeLaMater said. “It’s gonna be physical. They’re a quality team, so we’ll have to be on our A-game, so we’re looking forward to it.”