A 2-0 defeat at Lafayette University Oct. 31 gave the Boston University men’s soccer team a four-game losing streak for the first time since 2021 — the most consecutive losses for any of the current players.
The Terriers (8-7, 4-4 Patriot League) and the Leopards (6-6-6, 3-2-4 PL) are now fourth and sixth in the Patriot League standings, respectively.
With a pair of shutouts in the last two games, BU has not scored in over 217 minutes of play. The last goal came in the 53rd minute against American University Oct. 19.
Before the game, American and Lehigh clinched two PL tournament spots — both teams doing so with their recent wins over BU.
With one game to play in the regular season, the remaining two postseason spots were up for grabs. The result of the team’s final on-road game of the season would be crucial.
During the game, Army West Point and Bucknell University grabbed two more places to the playoffs.
As all the results fell, the bottom four teams were out of reach of the top six. Regardless of the result, BU would clinch — but it was a hard achievement to celebrate.
In the 14th minute — with the first shot of the game — Lafayette went up, thanks to forward Riley Martin’s effort.
As has become too frequent an occurrence this season, the Terriers’ deficit doubled in an instant. This time, it was a combination of an assist from Lafayette defender Anthony Durling and a shot by midfielder Samir Dishnica.
“When you score a goal, you’re most susceptible to conceding a goal,” Head Coach Kevin Nylen said. “We concede one and are very susceptible in what we’ve seen in the last month [to] giving up a second. It comes down to just more defending, individually and collectively.”
Before BU even got their first shot off — a miss to the right by sophomore midfielder Pharis Petrica — the Leopards recorded four shots of their own.
With the Leopards more than happy to defend their comfortable lead for the final 45 minutes, second-half stats tipped in favor of the Terriers. BU had a 7-2 shot advantage, but only one of these was on target.
In fact, BU had no shots on goal at all until the second half, when senior midfielder Ethan Gill forced Lafayette goalkeeper Eric Axtman to make a low save in the 58th. This was BU’s one and only on-target shot.
The Terriers’ woes worsened when the referee handed senior defender John Roman a red card in the 68th — the team’s first red card since the 2024 season opener. BU found itself down to 10 men with at least two goals to make up.
The clock ran out, and the Terriers fell 2-0.
At this point, the best-case scenario for BU was a win against Holy Cross Tuesday, which would put the team at 15 points.
“We[‘ve] got to be ready for Holy Cross,” Nylen said. “We’[ve] got to put this behind us.”
And they were ready — BU closed the regular season at home in a 2-1 win over Holy Cross, finishing 5-2 at home this season. The fourth-place finish gives the team hosting rights in the PL quarterfinal on Saturday.