Pegged against its third and final Ivy League opponent of the year, the Boston University men’s soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision against Brown University on Tuesday evening.
By way of two costly giveaways in BU’s (8-3-1, 3-0-1 Patriot League) defensive third, Brown (6-4-1) delivered two swift blows. Freshman Matthew Chow first capitalized in the 12th minute, while junior Nate Pomeroy added the insurance tally in the 65th minute.
There was little junior goalkeeper Matt Gilbert could have done on either opportunity, thus casting a sour note on an otherwise promising display of form.
“We played very well, we just gave away two goals,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “We gave up the ball twice for both goals, and one was 11 minutes in, which is okay because you can come back from it. It’s something that at this point in the season we shouldn’t be doing, though.”
“Then the second goal was nothing anybody can do,” Roberts added. “If you’re going to give the ball away like that, it’s just suicide. You gave them pretty much a two on none, so that’s very disappointing. The guys fought very hard in the middle of the park and probably deserved better from it, but it’s mistakes like that are costly.”
Despite the deflating nature of their mistakes, the Terriers still threatened Brown keeper Erik Hanson in goal. The junior was forced into six saves and successfully fought off eight corner kicks from the Terriers.
Driving BU’s quest for an equalizer was sophomore midfielder Anthony Viteri. He fired three shots on target, but could not add to his team-leading six goals. While Viteri admirably threatened Hanson’s goal, Roberts was still disappointed by his team’s lackluster finishing and inability to create more clear-cut chances.
“We still need to do better in areas of the field to get more chances,” Roberts said. “We had shots, but I wouldn’t say they were real quality shots.”
“We did get some balls through and they were a bit dangerous,” Roberts added, “but with the amount of possession we had, you’ve got to get to goal and force the keeper to make saves. I don’t think we really forced him to make difficult saves with the amount of possession we had in the middle of their third of the field.”
Adding to the disheartening nature of the loss is the fact that BU’s six-game unbeaten streak is now over. This was also the first time the Terriers were shut out all season.
One has to look all the way back to Sept. 19 for the last time the Terriers were defeated — the day they lost 2-1 to Princeton University. Since then, BU outscored its opponents 9-2 and conquered four conference opponents.
Yet, Roberts expressed that the streak was not weighing on the minds of his players nearly as much as their costly errors were.
“We played well and the young guys played well, so I don’t think the streak was it,” he said. “They knew what they had to do and they tried to it, it just was individual mistakes that cost us. I don’t think it was a pressure thing considering how we played, we just can’t make those mistakes in that area of the field.”
Luckily, BU does not have to wait long to avenge those mistakes. They head to Easton, Pennsylvania, Saturday to take on Lafayette College, a contest that provides BU with a chance to stay atop the Patriot League standings.
“Obviously we’ve got a conference game coming up on Saturday and it’s a team that doesn’t give up many goals, so we’ll have to create things and finish our chances,” Roberts said. “You move onto the next one and we understand that. It’s about getting the three points now and using every game to get better.”
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.
