Playing in its final non-conference game of the year, the No. 20 Boston University men’s soccer team fell 3-1 in an away contest against rival Boston College.
Coming into the match, BU (10-3-1, 5-0 Patriot League) was riding a nine-game unbeaten streak and had won six games straight.
In the early stages of the match, both the Terriers and the Eagles (5-5-3) struggled to get a stranglehold of possession, and neither could muster up consistent attacking play.
The first attacking chance for either team came in the 20th minute when BU senior forward Dominique Badji headed a powerful shot toward goal, only to see Eagle goalkeeper Alex Kapp produce a stronger save.
The Terriers got on the board first and broke the scoreless deadlock in the 25th minute. Senior midfielder Jordan Barker, the reigning Patriot League Corvias Offensive Player of the Week, burst through the BC back-line on a counter attack and attempted to round Kapp. He was brought down in the box, and Badji calmly converted the ensuing penalty kick for his team-leading seventh goal of the year.
“I thought the first 25 minutes were good, we played well,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “It was an even and competitive battle, but we managed to get the first goal. Overall, the first half wasn’t bad.”
The Terriers’ lead was short-lived, as BC senior Cole DeNormandie knocked in a loose ball off a corner kick in the 43rd minute. This was only the second shot on goal for the Eagles and marked the first time the Terriers defense allowed a goal in the first half since a 2-2 double-overtime draw against Princeton University on Sept. 20.
“I don’t think it was too big of a deal,” Roberts said. “It was just a crazy goal, we didn’t clear the ball and then we did clear it. We hit it off of [BC], and then it ricocheted in. It’s one of those things that happen that you just deal with.”
BC came out with vengeance to start the second half and disrupted any momentum the Terriers may have garnered before halftime. In the 52nd minute, the Eagles added to their lead when forward Zeiko Lewis capitalized off a Terrier turnover in the defensive third and beat senior goalkeeper Nick Thomson in a one-on-one situation.
“The second goal was disappointing,” Roberts said. “We gave away a bad ball at midfield that ended up in a breakaway, so it was disappointing. From that, we never really regrouped to get control of the game like we had at times in the first half.”
Barker and the rest of the Terrier offense managed to muster several half chances as they fought to get back into the contest, but failed to seriously threaten the Eagles’ goal.
These struggles and consistent Eagle pressure ultimately resulted in BC cushioning their lead courtesy of a 78th minute senior Nick Butler strike from 14 yards out.
The three Eagles goals marked the most allowed by the Terriers all season. BU saw their goals against average slide to 0.79.
It would be easy to chalk the Terriers struggles up to the absence of freshman midfielder David Asbjornsson, junior defender Jeroen Blugh, and senior defender and two-time Patriot League Corvias Defensive Player of the Week Kelvin Madzongwe, but Roberts quickly downplayed this notion.
“The guys that were out there got the job done last weekend [against Lafayette College], but we just didn’t make the plays tonight,” he said. “Granted, Boston College is a better team and gave us more dangerous threats in terms of technique. We just made mistakes against a good team that made us pay the price for it.”
Roberts instead argued that it was the loss of Badji in the 48th minute that proved to be the most impactful as it deprived the Terriers of a precious offensive outlet.
“We didn’t use Dominique [Badji] in the second half, so offensively, we had trouble getting out of our own end and stretching them,” Roberts said. “We started chasing the game, and without Dominique in there, it was really difficult to stretch [Boston College] without the threat over the top.”
Despite the setback, BU is firmly focused ahead to returning to its winning ways on Saturday in conference play against Loyola University-Maryland, Roberts said.
“We have no choice but to put this behind us,” he said. “The guys will regroup and are disappointed right now, but we’ll get back at it and be fine.”
Jonathan's a New Englander who writes about sports, features and politics. He currently covers men's hockey at BU, worked as Sports Editor during the spring 2016 semester and is on the FreeP's Board of Directors. Toss him a follow on Twitter at @jonathansigal.
