The Boston University men’s soccer team’s quest for a third straight win was cut off Saturday afternoon, as it fell 2-1 to Princeton University.
While the Terriers (3-2) had scored first in each of their last two games, it was the Tigers (2-2) who jumped on the front foot in the game’s early goings.
Senior Brendan McSherry, who was a First-Team All-Ivy League selection in 2014, snuck a shot past junior goalkeeper Matt Gilbert in the 11th minute. For BU coach Neil Roberts, that moment was a manifestation of Princeton’s energy level, which was boosted by the fact that the match was the team’s home opener.
“They came out really strong and put us under a lot of pressure,” Roberts said. “We kind of knew it was coming, but we didn’t hold up real well. We were fortunate to only let up the one goal.”
Inspired by McSherry’s first strike of the season, Princeton eventually finished off the first half with an 11-4 shot advantage, but the Terriers continued their search for an equalizer.
After a bit of confusion along the Tiger back line, junior forward Mark Wadid opportunistically pounced on a blip of miscommunication to draw BU level in the 27th minute. With Wadid’s tally, the Terriers grew in confidence and scrapped their way to a halftime result against their Ivy League opponent.
“We didn’t play well and we got back into the game although we just gave away the ball too many times. That allowed them to counter on us,” Roberts said. “We did a little better job at it in the second half, but it’s obviously something that we’re not where we want to be. It’s something that we still have to work on, since they put us under a lot of pressure defensively, but we still gave the ball in unforced errors.”
One reason why the Terriers struggled to deal with Princeton’s pressure was the departure of sophomore midfielder David Amirani to injury in just the 18th minute. Normally a vital cog who can offer a crunching tackle and then jumpstart an attack, Amirani is an unheralded part of Roberts’ side.
Senior midfielder Richie Robinson stepped in for the Brooklyn, New York, native and offered some veteran guile, but Amirani’s absence took a toll on the Terriers nonetheless.
“We did alright because Richie came in and did a really good job,” Roberts said. “We stabilized things and were fine and then he played the second half too. We are in pretty good shape that way and just got to work people in and get more of a rhythm going.”
Despite the fact BU settled down in the second half, it was ultimately Princeton who got the last laugh when the Terriers suffered another turnover.
A mere three minutes from extra time and potentially a vital road result, senior Nico Hurtado swung in a corner kick towards Gilbert’s goal. It was Princeton senior Josh Miller who rose highest to power home a header and put the Tigers up 2-1.
“We were hoping to get to overtime and regroup, but we gave up the corner kick off of a giveaway and had to scramble,” Roberts said. “Obviously you don’t want to give up a restart goal ever since they hurt, especially that late in the game.”
With the damage done, Princeton finished the remainder of the match strong and closed the door on what Roberts admitted was not the best game from his squad.
“We still had some chances to go up 2-1 a couple of times, but tactically we weren’t the smartest today, which is a little disappointing,” Roberts said. “It just shows that we aren’t there yet, which we knew.”
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.
