On Aug. 31, as 5,935 strong packed the stands of Nickerson Field for the annual Terrier Tailgate, the Boston University men’s soccer team held a 2-1 lead late against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. With three seconds left in regulation, Minutemen forward Prince Ofosu scored a game-tying goal to send the game to overtime. Eight seconds into the second extra frame, Ben Arikian scored the game-winner and sealed a 3-2 win for UMass.
‘ Terrier fans might have seen cause for concern and dismissed the team’s talent and ability. But BU coach Neil Roberts knew otherwise.
‘The UMass game was disappointing because of all the work that went into the game,’ Roberts said. ‘The whole game we played extremely well. We outplayed them pretty much for most of the game, but we made big mistakes and gave up goals. But it was all done by young kids, and that’s part of it. That’s how they learn. And as disappointing as it was, it made us a better team.’
After starting the season 0-3-1 against four ranked opponents, Roberts attributed the poor record to rookie players, small mistakes and his team’s inability to capitalize on its chances ‘-‘- although the Terriers were creating plenty of them. He knew his team had the ability to win games and be a dominant force in America East.
‘At the beginning, the schedule was very difficult and [the team] was under a lot of pressure,’ Roberts said. ‘We didn’t get the results, but the play was good. There were a lot of positives that came out of it and the kids got confidence out of it. Coming through that stretch, we all believed we could be a good team.’
The UMass game soon became a distant memory for Roberts and his team, as they improved to 3-4-2 going into conference play. But holes in their defense again plagued the Terriers in their first conference game against the University at Albany ‘-‘- a 3-0 loss.
‘There were adjustments made along the way,’ Roberts said. ‘After the Albany game, we made some adjustments that worked out well for us. If you look at the game, they probably had five chances on goal and they scored three of them. They had some pretty good goals.’
After dropping the decision against Albany, the Terriers went 6-0-1 to close out the regular season. The turnaround was backed by a decrease in mistakes.
‘We made few mistakes and we played well,’ Roberts said. ‘The guys did a good job of adjusting to different teams. They adjusted to different types of styles and we were able to win different types of games, which was real positive for us going down the stretch.
‘But the play didn’t really change from the beginning of the season to the middle to the end,’ Roberts continued. ‘We got more consistent and we stopped making big mistakes.’
The red-hot Terriers earned a first-round bye in the conference tournament, then knocked off the University of Vermont in a 2-1 semifinal victory to advance to the championship game ‘-‘- a hard-fought battle against’ Binghamton University that ended in a 1-0 Terrier victory.
The AE championship gave the Terriers an automatic bid to the NCAAs, where they played to another 1-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson University. BU advanced to the second round, but No. 3 St. John’s University’s stifling defense stalled the Terriers in a 1-0 loss to end BU’s season at 12-6-3.
The keys to the Terriers’ success up until the very last game were their abilities to possess the ball through the midfield and play stellar defense after the Albany match. In most games, the Terriers controlled the ball for the majority of regulation ‘-‘- and it proved to be a deciding factor in many of their wins.
‘The possession was something that we worked on from day one,’ Roberts said. ‘When you possess the ball, you don’t have to defend. When you defend a lot, you get tired. That’s when mistakes happen late in the game.
‘That’s one of the reasons we scored goals late in the games,’ Roberts continued. ‘Our possession improved and that improved our defense because you’re not defending as much. Teams don’t have as many opportunities when you can possess the ball.’
Consistent possession and capitalizing on chances turned the Terriers’ season around. After a disappointing start, the team started winning when it mattered most and earned the conference title to advance to the second round of the NCAAs.
Roberts knew his team would pile up victories, even when others dismissed it.
‘If we were to draw things out, I think it pretty much went the way we thought it would,’ Roberts said. ‘We knew we were going to struggle early on, but we didn’t know how the kids were going to come out of it. They obviously responded to it. Nothing that happened throughout the first half of the season, or even in the second half of the season, was a total shock to us.’
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Congratulations to coach Roberts and the Terriers. Playing a tough schedule, and falling just short against powerhouse teams may be frustrating, but it’s no shame. The team was close, close, close against powerhouse St. John’s and nearly moved deep into the NCAA tournament. Wait until next year!