The Boston University men’s soccer team played in its second game of the year Friday night, taking on the University of Connecticut. While BU played valiantly, the No.1 Huskies were ultimately too much for the Terriers, beating them 1-0.
“I thought, for the most part, we played very well,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “I was happy with the way the guys played and worked. I thought our possession was better than it was all season. I thought our composure was good.”
While junior goalie Nick Thomson started against UConn (2-0) in their last meeting, redshirt freshman Matt Gilbert was given the opportunity this time around.
It was not long before Gilbert was tested, as in the eighth minute the Huskies had a chance to open the scoring. Forward Mamadou Diouf took a shot, but Gilbert was ready and made the save.
BU (0-2) had its first chance in the 21st minute when junior midfielder Jordan Barker earned a corner kick for the Terriers. The corner was cleared away by the Husky defense, however. Despite the missed opportunity, the Terriers came right back in the 22nd minute, with a chance from junior midfielder Cameron Souri. The first shot attempt for the Terriers was off target, going high of the goal.
Afterward, the momentum shifted in favor of the Huskies, as BU only garnered one more shot for the rest of the half.
In the 26th and 28th minutes, UConn sought to finally take the lead, but neither chance was successful. The first one came off the foot of freshman Cyle Larin, but the shot wide of the net. In the 28th minute, the Huskies got their second attempt on net, but again Gilbert was able to stop the shot.
In the 41st minute UConn’s odds changed. Midfielder Edir DaGraca opened up the scoring with his first goal of the season. Diouf was credited with the assist.
“They were putting pressure on us, and we were going too fast instead of slowing things down,” Roberts said. “It is hopefully something we will learn from.”
UConn looked to add on to its lead just before the half ended with chances from Adria Beso and Diouf. Gilbert saved Beso’s shot and Diouf’s chance went wide of the post.
The two chances were the last of the half, as the Huskies went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
The Terriers looked to knot up the score in the second half, and came out with a flurry of chances in the opening minutes.
Freshman midfielder David Asbjornsson attempted to get a shot off in the 53rd minute, but it was blocked behind by the Husky defense, setting up a corner for Barker.
The corner led to a shot by sophomore forward Mac McGuire, but goalkeeper Andre Blake was prepared and made the save. The ball went out of play, allowing BU to get another corner. Barker took the kick, but the chance once again failed.
In the 64th minute, the Terriers were forced to make a switch at goal after Gilbert saw red. Gilbert made a save on Larin, but touched the ball with his hands outside of the goal box, an automatic red card for the redshirt freshman. Replacing him in net was Thomson.
“Gilbert made the decision to come out on him,” Roberts said. “He thought he was still in the box. It was really close. His body was clearly out of the box, but where he caught the ball was maybe half a foot over the line.”
Thomson was tested almost immediately, as within his first minute of action, three shots were taken, one of which was on target. Thomson was able to track down the shot from midfielder George Fochive, keeping the Huskies at bay.
“Nick played well,” Roberts said. “We were hoping to give Nick a few more days off. He made some big saves. So that was good.”
In the 75th minute, BU was issued its second red card of the night. Madzongwe, who was given a yellow earlier, was called for his second foul and given the red.
Although the defense remained strong in spite of the red card, the offense could not get anything going with only nine men on the field.
After the initial chances in the half, the Terriers were quiet for the remainder of the second. In the 89th minute Barker looked to tie the score, but his shot was high. UConn was able to preserve its 1-0 advantage and handed BU its second loss of the season.
“That was by far our best performance,” Roberts said. “We are trying to find our game. We played very well and that was a positive sign for us. It could have been an intense situation but the guys handled it.”
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