Despite the loss to rival Boston College on Tuesday night for the Boston University men’s soccer team, freshman goalkeeper Nick Thomson and sophomore defender Kelvin Madzongwe have continued to show that they can keep the Terriers in the game every night.
Thomson made five saves while surrendering only one goal on Tuesday, and kept the Terriers (7-7, 3-1 America East) close in a game that could have easily been a blowout.
In the closing moments of the first half, a ball slipped through the BU defense and left BC (10-4-0, 2-3 ACC) forward Diego Medina-Mendez in alone for a shot on goal. Thomson sprinted out and dove to block what should have been the first goal of the game for the Eagles, which kept the game tied going into the half.
“He played great, he really did,” BU coach Neil Roberts said of Thomson. “He has been playing well all year, and that was a good game for him, but unfortunately we couldn’t get him a win.”
The only goal for the Eagles came in the 67th minute, when BC midfielder Kyle Bekker took an open shot from 19 yards away to the right hand side of the goal.
While Thomson could not steal the win against the Eagles, the two-time America East Rookie of the Week has recorded five shutouts on the season and has made 44 saves in 13 starts. Thomson has not allowed more than two goals in one game all season.
The Terriers have been forced to win through great defending thanks to their generally ineffective offense. Including Tuesday’s loss to BC, five of the seven losses the Terriers have surrendered this season have been 1-0 decisions.
“We have got to get goals,” Roberts said. “I think we have ten or eleven goals on the year. Going into the conference now, you need goals.”
When the Terriers have been able to score, Thomson has been solid in net to preserve the lead. The Cramlington, England native has helped BU win four 1-0 decisions in their past six games, including a win in overtime on Saturday over America East opponents Stony Brook University.
In front of Thomson, Madzongwe has been the backbone of the defense to this point in the season, consistently making blocks and clears to make Thomson’s job easier. A good example of the reigning America East Rookie of the Year’s value is the clear he made off a low cross into the box early in the second half that not only saved a goal, but created a throw-in instead of a corner kick for BC.
“He has got some young kids he is playing with back there so he is trying to hold it together and he is doing a fantastic job,” Roberts said.
The defense has been shorthanded for most of this season due to a hamstring injury to senior defender Colin Henry. Henry is the reigning America East Defender of the Year and the only upperclassman starter on the defensive line, so his absence has left an inexperienced group in front of Thomson.
While the defense has performed well for a group so young, the occasional defensive lapse throughout the year has forced Thomson to be a difference-maker. With only two goals allowed in the past six games, Thomson has showed he is up to that challenge.
BU should expect good results from their team over the next three seasons with Madzongwe and Thomson performing at such high levels. For now though, the two will have to continue playing at this high of a level for the Terriers to advance in this year’s America East Tournament.
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