Lapses on defense and struggles on the attack proved to be costly for the Boston University men's soccer team as it dropped a pair of games against regional foes over the weekend.
Looking to capture a long-awaited win against a bitter rival, BU (3-3-1) fell 4-0 to Boston College on Friday night in what amounted to a different chapter in the same story of the Eagles' (3-0-2) recent domination of the Battle of Commonwealth Avenue.
BC was propelled by a surge late in the first half in which the team tallied four goals in a span of about 12 minutes. The scoring onslaught for the Eagles began when midfielder Patrick Chin threw the ball in to an unmarked Conor Fitzpatrick, who proceeded to rip a shot from about 30 yards out that soared past BU redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brandon Briggs to break the deadlock at 1-0.
Less than a minute later, BC senior midfielder Karl Reddick one-timed a Kyle Bekker free kick past Briggs to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
The Terriers (3-3-1) tried to respond and force themselves back into the game by pushing the ball forward, but a turnover in the BC box proved to be costly as the Eagles pressed a counter-attack that ended with striker Charlie Rugg sneaking a shot inside the left post to put the his team up 3-0 and effectively ending any BU hope for a comeback.
BC forward Edvin Worley finished off the scoring 14 seconds later, sending the Terriers to the locker room facing a 4-0 deficit.
"I don't think we had given up four goals all year, and then we do it in 10 minutes in a very big game," said BU coach Neil Roberts. "Obviously BC is good, but they're not that good."
BU's attack emerged as its defense shored up in the second half, a 45-minute span in which the Terriers outshot the Eagles 6-3, but it was ultimately nothing more than a moral victory as BU was shut out for the first time this season.
"I thought we did okay in the second half," Roberts said. "But unfortunately by that point the game was pretty much over."
Junior midfielder Michael Bustamante led the way for the Terriers with three shot attempts, while Briggs managed two saves against an unrelenting BC attack.
The win on Friday was BC's 10th win over BU in its last 11 matches.
A major problem throughout the evening for the Terriers was a hearty accumulation of fouls, due in large part to what Roberts described as "bad defending." BU committed 20 fouls in the match &- compared to only 10 by BC &- eight of which came in the first half in the Terriers own half of the field.
Five miles east and two nights later, the Terriers completed a winless weekend, falling 2-0 to Brown University at Nickerson Field on Sunday night.
Despite controlling possession of the ball for a majority of the game and besting the Bears (4-0-2) on shots by a 17-9 margin, the Terriers were never able to break through against a stout Brown defense that has conceded only one goal in its six matches this season.
Brown striker T.J. Popolizio recorded the first goal of the game with about two minutes remaining in the first half to give the Bears the lead that they would not ultimately forfeit.
"The first goal we gave up was totally against the play," Roberts said. "We had a guy going up to the ball, we had our own guy knock him off the ball and we just allowed them to create the goal. That's just poor play on our part."
Six minutes into the second period, Brown midfielder Bobby Belair tallied the final goal of the game, heading in a ball played from about 30 yards out by junior midfielder Jay Heyward.
The Terriers also held a 9-2 advantage on corner kicks, but consistent with the theme of the weekend, they were not able to convert on these opportunities.
"The services weren't fast enough or dangerous enough," Roberts said. "I think we had one that we got to [freshman defender Kelvin Madzongwe] in the first half, maybe the first corner kick, but after that it was eight wasted."
Briggs had one save for the game and senior forward Aaron O'Neal led BU with two shots on goal, but they proved to not be enough for a team that failed to record a goal in either of the two weekend games.
The Terriers will continue this week with the second game of a four-game homestand, facing off against the University of Rhode Island on Friday at 7 p.m.
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