Three days is all it took for the Boston University men’s soccer team to travel from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows and everywhere in between.
After knocking off America East leader, the University of Vermont, in double overtime Wednesday, the Terriers (7-4-4, 2-3-1 America East) lost in heartbreaking fashion, 1-0 in overtime, to the University at Albany (7-6-2, 5-2-0 AE) Saturday. With just two games left in the season, Albany’s goal with two minutes left in the first overtime could end up being the defining point of the season.
The worst part is, seconds before the game-winner, sophomore forward Jin Oh emerged from a mad scramble in front of the Albany goal and sent a shot into the crossbar of an open goal. The ball then went straight to sophomore Petur Sigurdsson, who was unable to get enough foot on the ball to get it across the line.
Before anyone in the stands could catch their breath, Albany was on a scorching fast break which ended with freshman Joe Hogan racing past junior back Derek Puerta, forcing senior goalkeeper Zach Riffett to come out of the goal to challenge. Riffett got a hand on it, but it wasn’t enough as Hogan sent it into the back of the net. The goal was Hogan’s first of the season.
“Unfortunately that’s how soccer is,” Riffett said. “You can get it taken away just like that. I thought [Oh’s shot] went in, and 20 seconds later they scored. I came out and tried to make myself as big as possible and just react, and I did, and I touched it. I got set to react and I just didn’t make the save.”
Before that goal ever hit the net, the Great Danes executed another play that was inches away from ending the game. Four minutes into overtime, Riffett made a diving save, but the rebound bounced straight to an Albany attacker who just needed to tap it in for the win. Puerta swept in and booted the ball off the goal line, sending it out of bounds and saving the game for at least four more minutes.
“The backs and myself have a great relationship,” Riffett said. “That was just an extra effort from him and all the backs. [There’s] just a lot of teamwork back there and keeping it together as a group.”
All season long, the Terriers have been haunted by their inability to score goals, despite routinely getting many cracks at the keeper. In their six conference games this season, the Terriers have managed just five goals, two of which came in their victory over Vermont. After the game, coach Neil Roberts pounded home the fact that the team just needs to score, no matter how well its defense is playing.
“It’s the game-you gotta score goals. You can’t hide the fact you gotta score goals,” Roberts said. “We were working at it, the guys were working at it, but were not scoring goals. Whenever you don’t score goals anything can happen.”
Like many teams have done this season, the Great Danes used a conservative, counter-attacking style against the Terriers. Keeping many defenders back in the box, Albany waited for BU to make its move, and then using the big leg of goalkeeper Steward Ceus, would rush into BU territory to try and take advantage of their exceptional passing skills. That allowed the Terriers to determine the tempo of the game and dominate play until, according to Roberts, they started trying too hard to score late in the game, exposing their defense.
“If you look at the goals that are coming, they are coming late. Then we get exposed by trying to get the goals,” Roberts said. “We just weren’t super dangerous. We didn’t have anybody to do that special thing. There is not much else you can say, the bottom line is you have got to score goals. Someone’s got to step up.”
The attitude of the team after the game can be summed up with just one word from senior co-captain Zach Kirby.
“Awful,” Kirby said.
It was BU’s seventh overtime game, but only its first loss.
Next up for the Terriers is their final regular season home game against sixth-place Hartford University where major playoff implications will be on the line.
“That’s been our season. We gotta right the ship,” Riffet said. “We’ve got two games left, and we gotta get three points against Hartford and try and get in the tournament.”