While the biggest takeaway from the Boston University men’s soccer team’s win against the United States Naval Academy Saturday night revolved around honoring coach Neil Roberts’ 30-season career, senior goalkeeper Nick Thomson also registered a career performance Saturday.
With nine saves on the night, Thomson’s stellar performance kept the Terriers (5-2-1, 1-0-0 Patriot League) in the game, leading to a 2-1 victory over Navy (4-4-1, 0-1 Patriot League).
Coming into Saturday, Navy boasted the highest scoring offense in the league, scoring 1.88 goals per game. The Midshipmen showed their offensive prowess against the Terriers with 24 shots in the match, but Thomson didn’t let the intimidating Navy attack faze him.
“To be honest, it just makes you a little bit more alert,” Thomson said. “We’re all a bit more focused in everything that we’ll do, and we’re a bit more wary that they’re so dangerous. It makes you a bit more excited to play. It makes you rise to the challenge.”
Whether it was excitement, instinct or a combination of the two, it worked Saturday for the Cramlington, England, native. Thomson took absolute control of the backfield, especially in the first half — when the Terrier defense was looking shaky against the formidable attack of the Midshipmen.
Thomson dove to stop set pieces destined for the back of the net, frequently coming out of his goal to defend against attacks in the box en route to nine saves. It was a new career high for Thomson, equaling out to as many saves as Thomson had in his last three games combined.
Thomson did allow one goal, a 79th-minute header from Midshipmen forward Alex Evans. While he did record a shutout against Navy, Thomson said that he was still pleased with both the performance of him and his defense.
“It means a lot,” Thomson said when asked what it meant to allow only one goal to Navy. “We were confident that we could keep them out today, even though they were high scoring and had good movement, and we showed that.”
Thomson even made an appearance on the score sheet against the Midshipmen with a 65th-minute clearance that flew over the Midshipmen defense and found its way right to the feet of senior forward Dominique Badji for an easy score.
“I’ll take anything I can get,” Thomson said. “As soon as Dominique went through, I was like, ‘That’s a goal.’ I knew straight away. I was so pleased.”
While Thomson’s performance on Saturday was impressive, it’s only a continuation of what both he and the defense have been able to accomplish all season. The nine saves on Saturday increased his save percentage to .818, while already compiling three shutouts on the season. In total, Thomson and the Terriers defense have only allowed six goals in 2014.
While the Terriers have usually outshot opponents this season, Saturday’s game was nothing but an offensive barrage from Navy. The Terriers played the majority of the game in their own backfield and were ultimately outshot by tally of 24-5.
Even without junior defender Jeroen Blugh for most of the match, Thomson and the defense were able to continue excelling during one of their toughest challenges this season. Thomson believes his relationship with senior defender Kelvin Madzongwe is one of the keys to the backfield’s continuing success.
“Me and Kelvin have [been playing] together…this is our third season,” Thomson said. “I think me and him, ever since the first day I played with him, [we’ve just known we] look after each other. It mainly comes from working with me and Kelvin, and it just kind of spreads.”
