Men’s soccer dispatch Minutemen in convincing fashion

Despite the rainy conditions, the Boston University men’s soccer team defeated the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Saturday night at Nickerson Field by a score of 2-0.

The Minutemen (0-5) struggled throughout the match in terms of containing BU’s (3-2) offense, with the final box score not even dictating how much the Terriers dominated the pace of play.

“I like what we did today,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “We still got to work on it, today shouldn’t have been this close, but I like the direction we’re heading in. Today was a big step for us.”

The Terriers got the offense going early, as they amassed four shots before the Minutemen could even register one attempt. As the game progressed, senior forward Dominique Badji started to make his presence felt. A great cutback in the penalty box in the 24th minute led to a laser of a shot that went just wide right.

Just four minutes later, senior midfielder Jordan Barker put a header into the back of the net, which came off a mishap from a UMass defender, to put the Terriers on the board.

The Terriers were not done there though, as Badji had another header in the box just a minute later, which came off the post and was immediately cleared off the line. It was only cleared about 10 yards, however, right to the foot of senior midfielder Sanford Spivey. He put it back toward the net but the Santa Barbara, California, native skied it high.

The offense looked vastly improved, with multiple scoring opportunities generated over the first 45 minutes of play.

“The offense was better today for sure,” Roberts said. “We should have finished a lot more of our opportunities. We should have scored a lot more. It’s frustrating. It really is. But we’re doing better. We really are. But we just need to finish. If the opportunity is there, we have to take it.”

As the first half proceeded, the Terriers did not let up, firing shot after shot at the Minutemen net. BU’s pressure on offense finally created positive results once again, as sophomore midfielder David Asbjornsson shot a free-kick over the wall of defenders and into the back of the net for his first collegiate score.

The Terriers ended the half with another threatening attack, as a header by Spivey banged off the post, before both squads entered halftime.

The Terriers seemed complacent in the second half, however, as play was fairly even. The Minutemen outshot the Terriers 6-5 in the second half, as both sides begun to shuffle players in and out.

One player who continued to play aggressive was Badji. He seemed to be on the cusp of his first goal of the season, as he accounted for three of BU’s five second-half shots. His best opportunity came in the 86th minute, as he dove headlong toward a ball crossed into the penalty box. He only had UMass goalkeeper Taylor Culp to beat, but he missed wide. Badji stayed on the ground for a few moments but managed to eventually get up and walk off under his own power.

“Badji’s fine,” Roberts said. “He’s been a little banged up this season, but he’ll be fine. I’m not worried. He’s a tough kid. He’ll get through it.”

The Terriers played with a chip on their shoulder, as the team suffered back-to-back losses after being nationally ranked following their 1-0 win over Iona College on Aug. 31.

“I really like where we’re headed,” Roberts said. “I know we should have probably won by more, but we have to be happy with the win. There are things we need to work on, absolutely, and we will. But we’re definitely playing better, and that gives me confidence on what we can do this season.”