The Boston University men’s soccer team mounted a furious comeback in the final 15 minutes of regulation at the University of Vermont on Saturday, scoring three goals and tying the game with eight seconds remaining en route to a 4-4 double-overtime draw in its conference opener with the Catamounts at Centennial Field.
Freshman forward Anders Ostli scored the tying goal for the Terriers (5-5-1, 0-0-1 America East), who came back from being down 4-1 with less than 20 minutes left in regulation. For Vermont (1-5-4, 0-0-1), senior forward Matt Chavez scored all four of the team’s goals, equaling an America East single-game record.
BU coach Neil Roberts said the Terriers’ will kept them in the game, even when they were down three scores and short on time.
‘We almost said it was done,’ Roberts said on Sunday, ‘but the way the guys were fighting, we said we were just going to keep going for it.’
Chavez entered Saturday’s contest having scored two goals in eight games this season. About a third of the way through the game, the Vermont forward had matched this year’s total, notching two scores and putting the Terriers in an early hole.
Roberts said Chavez, who scored his first goal by collecting a loose ball in front of BU goalkeeper Chad Comroe and banking it off the goal post, hurt the Terriers by capitalizing on his opportunities.
‘They [Vermont] didn’t have a lot of chances,’ Roberts said. ‘That’s the frustrating thing. The chances that he [Chavez] got, he finished them.’
After intermission, Chavez picked up right where he left off, scoring his third goal in the 53rd minute and giving the Catamounts a 3-0 lead.
Terrier senior co-captain Andy Dorman got BU on the board in the 67th minute, scoring his first goal of the season after taking the ball by himself into the Vermont box and beating goalkeeper David Sullivan with a shot low and to the right.
Just three minutes after the Terriers narrowed the gap, however, Chavez took the ball down the middle of the field and sent a shot past Comroe, tying an America East record with four goals in one game.
Chavez’s offensive explosion had the Terriers staring up at a three-goal deficit with 19:38 to play. Roberts said the team almost gave up at that point, but a change on offense got BU back into the game. The Terriers opted to send more men in the Vermont zone, keeping pressure in the Catamounts’ end and creating several scoring opportunities.
‘We put three guys up front and kept four in the midfield, but then you only have two in the back,’ the coach said. ‘It’s not a formation you can live by, but in the situation we were in, it worked well.’
With an increase of offensive pressure, the Terriers saw immediate results. Senior forward Alan McNamara scored in the 76th minute, cutting the Vermont lead to two goals. Adding attackers in the Catamount zone led to one BU score, and momentum appeared to shift to the Terriers. BU’s offense-heavy formation led to two Vermont breakaway chances, but Comroe was there to make big saves and keep the Terriers in the game.
‘We had them [Vermont] on their heels,’ Roberts said. ‘They were in shock, and they seemed very tired.’
As the seconds ticked off the clock, BU still trailed by two scores with less than three minutes to play. On a corner kick in the 87th minute, Dorman scored his second goal of the contest, curving the ball from the corner of the field and into the Vermont goal. After the co-captain’s second score, the Terriers knew that only one thing could stop them from tying the game.
‘We knew that Vermont wasn’t going to beat us, but the clock was going to beat us,’ Roberts said.
In a thrilling game of beat-the-clock, Ostli scored with eight seconds left after Vermont was unable to clear the ball from its zone.
‘It can happen,’ said Roberts, referring to the Terriers’ rally. ‘The momentum changed and they [Vermont] didn’t make any adjustments.’
Seeing that Vermont did not adjust to BU’s aggressive attack, Roberts said the Terriers stayed with the same formation in both overtime periods. The coach said the Terriers had their opportunity to steal the game in the extra sessions.
‘In the 20 minutes, we had three really good chances to win the game,’ Roberts said. ‘[The Terriers] were disappointed that they let it slip away.’
For the game, BU sent 26 shots on goal while Vermont took 22. Comroe made eight saves for the Terriers and Sullivan recorded 12.
Roberts was happy the team was able to come away with the tie and gave his team credit for not giving up. The coach added, however, that there was a lot the Terriers can do to improve.
‘The bottom line is that we can’t put ourselves in a hole and give up easy goals,’ Roberts said. ‘Until we solve that, things will be difficult.
‘You’re not going to go far unless you can take care of things in your defensive end,’ he continued.
The Terriers resume play on Wednesday at 7 p.m. when they welcome the University of New Hampshire to Nickerson Field.
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