Boston University men’s soccer team fell to Lehigh University 1-0 in the Patriot League Tournament semifinal on Tuesday, forfeiting the opportunity to host Saturday’s Patriot League final after No. 6 Lafayette upset No. 1 American in overtime earlier that afternoon.
The last time the Terriers (10-8, 5-4 Patriot League) won a conference semifinal as the No. 4 seed was in 1996, when BU beat Hartford in the America East tournament.
But the team could not repeat that outcome Tuesday, as the end of regulation saw the Mountain Hawks (9-5-5, 5-1-3 PL) celebrating their place in the final, with a 1-0 score.
“[Sometimes we were] just a dribble away or a pass away,” Head Coach Kevin Nylen said. “Credit to [Lehigh]. They defend very well, put numbers behind the ball and obviously kept us off the score sheet tonight. It’s a combination [of] how they’re able to defend in their third and specifically their box, and us [needing to be] a little more clinical.”
Simply making it to this round was quite the achievement for the Terriers’ senior class, the only team in the conference to have made it to the last four semifinals. Further, two senior Terriers played in each of them since 2022: defender Ryan Lau and midfielder Diego Rived.
The regular season matchup saw the Mountain Hawks win 2-0 after scoring twice in a span of a minute — even with shots tipped in favor of BU — so one would hope a second chance would have a better outcome.
It didn’t start out this way, as the Mountain Hawks got the first clear chance in the second minute — but defender Trey Sheeler missed narrowly left on the header.
Four minutes later, a challenge from junior defender Ben Mazza-Bergeron just inside the penalty area gifted Lehigh a penalty kick opportunity, set to be taken by forward Thomas Robertson.
Keeping the Terriers in the game, senior goalkeeper Sheraz Saadat dove the right way, made the save on the penalty and handled the rebound.
In the 32nd minute, Lehigh progressed the ball upfield, finding forward Bora Turker breaking beyond the last line of the Terrier defense and leaving Saadat to come far forward to make a stop outside the 18-yard box. As has been true lately, it worked out for him.
“Sheraz was great and kept us [in it] from the start,” said Nylen. “He gives you life, and you hope to turn that into momentum for your side. It just didn’t happen tonight.”
Late in the half, freshman midfielder Sebastian Otero took a free kick after the referees issued a yellow card to midfielder Noah Levy, but the shot went straight to Lehigh goalkeeper Anton Kinnunen, who wasn’t too bothered in the first half. Otero’s attempt remained the lone shot on goal for the Terriers by this point.
After the first half, shots stats were even, but Lehigh had a 3-1 advantage in those on target, so going into second, the Terriers had to get better looks at goal to match the quality they were receiving from Saadat in goal.
Before BU could even get a second-half shot off, Lehigh forced a turnover deep in the Terrier half, and midfielder Giacomo Zizza’s top-corner curler put the Mountain Hawks up 1-0.
The Terriers bolstered their attacking stats through the duration of the second frame, adding four more shots on target, including one resulting from a corner kick from sophomore midfielder Pharis Petrica that bobbled around in front of the goal. Freshman defender Anthony Harper got to it — but so did Kinnunen.
The following minute, Mountain Hawk forward Ryan Mundy got past BU’s Lau to get a one-on-one with Saadat, and the Terriers got lucky the post exists — the shot deflected and the scoreline held at 1-0.
In the last few minutes, the Terriers added pressure to a greater extent. One last-moment shot from senior defender John Roman fell to Kinnunen, and the season came to a close.
For some Terriers, that marked the end of their collegiate soccer career — a bitter moment that Nylen acknowledged.
In his overarching message post game, Nylen emphasized how much the group had given to the program — a .574 record in the four years since some of these players joined as freshmen, two regular season titles and one postseason title.
“I got a lot of time [with] and a lot of love and a lot of gratitude for the guys who wore the jersey for the last time tonight,” Nylen said. “They raised our program. They wore the jersey every day with pride and elevated BU men’s soccer. It’s a tough night, but I want to make sure I thank them.”