After a Saturday victory against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst that saw the Boston University men’s soccer team score multiple goals for the first time this season, the Terriers were able to continue their success on offense against Northeastern University Tuesday evening in a 2-1 victory.
The Huskies (2-4) came into the contest riding high from a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory against University of Massachusetts–Lowell Saturday, but were set back by foul trouble early when freshman Frantzdy Pierrot earned a yellow card in just the sixth minute of the match.
For the Terriers (4-2), senior forward and shot attempt leader Dominique Badji stepped on the pitch still in search of his first goal of the season, and was finally rewarded for his efforts in the first half. Badji buried a cross in the back of the net from junior midfielder Richie Robinson in the 16th minute to give BU the early lead.
“Badji’s been playing well,” Roberts said. “He’s hit the post like four or five times in his first four games. He’s been around the goal. It’s not like he’s been putting balls all over the place…It was a good finish for him, and I’m sure he’s going to get a lot more.”
Despite Badji’s early goal, the Terriers were held to two shots over the first 45 minutes, with only one — the goal — being on net, while the Huskies recorded four shots with senior goalkeeper Nick Thomson saving two attempts.
The second half of the match was filled with action. After two Northeastern shots and a Terrier foul in the box, a penalty kick from Huskies senior Simon Cox flew past Thomson to even the score in the 57th minute. In addition to the foul that led to the penalty shot goal, fouls marred the Terriers’ second half.
Within seconds of each other in the 65th minute, BU sophomore forward Felix De Bona and Northeastern’s sophomore Marc Greenblatt both received yellow cards. Junior forward Mac McGuire followed up shortly after that in the 69th minute with a yellow card of his own. Altogether, the Terriers amassed 16 fouls in the match including three yellow cards, a total that Roberts said the team needs to work on.
“It’s like it was [Saturday],” he said. “Whenever our fouls are above 10, it’s not a good sign for us. We like to keep it right under 10…and I think we had 10 in the second half…It definitely changes the game.”
Continuing to cause chaos for the Northeastern defense, Badji led the charge that eventually led to freshman midfielder David Amirani putting the ball through the legs of Northeastern goalkeeper Jonathan Thuresson for his first goal of the season in the 69th minute. Badji earned the assist on the play, his second of the season.
Tuesday’s match saw the Terriers being outshot for only the second time this season, with the Huskies doubling the total of seven put up by the Terriers. Aside from the 57th-minute penalty shot, the Terrier backfield, anchored by senior defender Kelvin Madzongwe has been extremely impressive, allowing only one goal or fewer in all six of its games this year.
Even with the Huskies shooting as frequently as they did, the defense was able to shut them down completely, blocking six of the 14 shots they faced on Tuesday.
“I’m happy with the defense,” Roberts said. “The team defense has been very, very good collectively… The goals we’ve been giving up have been on the set plays. That’s a good sign.”
