An overtime loss is never easy to process and surely delivers a hit to the losing team’s psyche. And unfortunately for the Boston University men’s soccer team, such setbacks to Binghamton University have become all too familiar.
The Bearcats maintained their recent mastery of the Terriers on Saturday night, edging BU, 2-1 in overtime, at the newly christened Bearcats Sports Complex, sending the Terriers home without a win in their conference opener for the third straight season.
Jumping out to a 1-0 lead off the foot of sophomore forward Shaun Taylor in the 16th minute, the Terriers (5-5-0, 0-1-0 America East) surrendered the tying goal in the closing minutes of the first half to cap an emotional opening 45 minutes.
“They came out strong,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “It was an emotional game from the start in a big stadium with a big crowd. We got a goal on a pretty good play to begin.”
Off a set cross just outside the 18-yard box, the Terrier defense failed to clear the ball, allowing it to bounce freely inside the 6-yard mark. After fanning on consecutive tries, neither the Terriers defensive backs nor senior goal keeper Hrafn Davidsson could poke the ball loose.
Bearcats (8-2-0, 1-0-0) forward Cameron Keith converted the first of his two tallies of the night, becoming the first opposing player since the University of Central Florida’s Ryan Roushandal to beat the Terriers twice in one game.
“It was a set play off of a cross and we just didn’t handle it well,” Roberts said. “We misplayed it and dropped in inside the six. It ended up behind us and we managed, again, to make something out of nothing for the other team.”
While the Terriers held Keith and the Bearcats scoreless through the second frame, defensive miscommunication proved to be their kryptonite again as another crossed ball hit the six in front of Davidsson in overtime.
Keith capitalized on his second gift, tapping the deflected clear behind a handcuffed Davidsson.
“It was a scrum in front of the goal,” Roberts said. “Our guys were running around in front of [Davidsson] and he couldn’t get to it.”
The Bearcats have ended the Terriers’ season two straight years, defeating BU in the conference tournament both times.
Despite controlling the ball for more than 60 of the game’s first 90 minutes, a beautiful left-footed goal by Taylor and an overwhelming success retaining possession through the midfield, the Terriers’ struggles continued to originate in the defensive zone.
While communication between the Terriers’ starting middle backs has developed substantially over the past few contests, inside work with the entire defense proves to be less fluid.
The third bouncing ball to hurt BU in as many games, Keith’s overtime mark underscores the Terriers’ need to tighten their rebound and second chance clears.
“Our center backs are playing well, but our outside guys are still struggling,” Roberts said. “We need to get better at communicating and clearing.”
The Terriers’ continued offensive successes were overshadowed by the few but fatal mistakes BU made. BU held the ball with ease for the fourth game in a row, creating multiple scoring chances, including two early opportunities in the overtime period.
But whether it’s an overwhelming sense of urgency or simply overexcitement, the Terriers have struggled to close out their opportunities.
“The offense was pretty good,” said Roberts. “Especially in a game like [Saturday] when it was difficult to get a flow going, they pushed through and got a lot of chances.
“The biggest thing for us is that we need to get points,” Roberts continued. “We need to start being able to play quicker.”
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