Despite the Boston University men’s soccer team riding into the match on a four-game winning streak, the Terriers (8-4, 4-1 Patriot League) fell victim to another late-game comeback, falling 3-2 to Northeastern Tuesday night at Nickerson Field.
Heading into the game, the Huskies (3-6-3) were winless in their last five matches. The Terriers capitalized on that momentum, outshooting Northeastern 20-6 over the course of the game — though BU could not secure the win.
Tuesday’s loss puts BU without a win against Northeastern since 2021.
The opening 40 minutes were all BU — getting off nine shots while blanking Northeastern on the same front. This included a pair of well-struck attempts from sophomore forward Dylan Williams that met the woodwork in the 9th and 18th minutes.
Within the next two minutes, junior forward Keke Abai broke past the Husky defense, linking to freshman defender Austin Mobray, who drew a foul from Northeastern defender Rohin Kapila right outside the 18-yard box.
Instead of sending the free kick directly to goal, freshman midfielder Sebasian Otero found sophomore midfielder Jack Grossman at the top of the box. Grossman, who transferred this year from Syracuse, had his shot favorably deflected, putting the Terriers up and securing his first-career goal.
“A heads-up play in terms of identifying the space from Otero to play short to Jack and to find a set piece goal,” Head Coach Kevin Nylen said. “It’s good for him to find his first goal.”
With time, Northeastern began chipping into BU’s domination.
The Terriers got lucky when a weak back-pass from senior defender John Roman set Husky forward Bryce Flowers up in front of goal, but senior goalkeeper Sheraz Saadat came out to protect the lead.
Another turnover just minutes later led to another shot from Northeastern, followed by a deflection off the strike from Husky midfielder Morris Matthews in the 42nd minute, putting the Huskies level off an own goal.
The Terriers put up a last-ditch attempt to close the half — but would have to continue the effort to reestablish the lead after the break.
They did, in fact, pick back up at the onset of the second half. In the 47th minute, a back-post delivery off a corner kick from sophomore midfielder Pharis Petrica was finished by Roman, who was making his first start since August.
With time, BU was once again dealing with more pressure from Northeastern after going up.
In the 75th, Saadat had to make another save, though Northeastern forward Asiah Carey was offside anyway.
As he had in the first half, Williams got close for the Terriers again, finding himself square with the goal as he got a strong shot off, but the ball went straight to Northeastern goalkeeper Tobias Jahn.
With the threat of another comeback tangible, Northeastern earned a pair of corners, and with the second one, the ball ended up on the ground in front of goal in traffic, but Saadat landed on it to put the play to an end.
But, once again, in the draining minutes of the half, midfielder Neil Devnani pulled Northeastern level. With under 40 seconds to play, the Huskies led for the first time — thanks to Flowers, their leading goalscorer.
Nylen said the team got caught too “deep” in its own box, with runners slipping in behind. The group needs to be stronger at “box defending,” he added.
In another local derby against Boston College, the Terriers dropped the lead late, and this time, they have to regroup before a road trip to the nation’s capital, taking on American University Sunday.
“We’ve lost before,” said Nylen. “[We’ve] got to now emotionally put it to this side and put everything into recovering physically. From here on out, it is conference play.”
