The Boston University men’s soccer team tied the United States Military Academy, 1-1, in a double overtime duel Saturday afternoon in West Point, New York.
The draw dropped the Terriers (11-4-2, 5-1-2 Patriot League) to second place in the Patriot League, one point behind Colgate University. Both BU and Colgate (9-6-2, 6-2 Patriot League) have one game remaining to determine who will be the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament.
Junior forward Felix De Bona stayed hot on Halloween, scoring BU’s lone goal. It was the Somerville native’s eighth goal of the year and fourth in the Terriers’ last three games, tying him for most in the Patriot League.
After De Bona’s initial charge at goal was denied in the 26th minute, freshman forward T.J. Butzke regained possession for the Terriers and passed the ball to sophomore forward Danny Foen on the left side of the field. Then, Foen hit a perfect cross that found De Bona in stride for a header to give BU the early lead.
The cross was Foen’s first career assist, and it came in what was his first career start. Foen’s recent clutch play, along with the improvement of other underclassmen, has given a team that lost seven starters from last season tremendous lineup flexibility.
“It’s been interesting,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “We’re ahead of where we hoped we’d be. [The young players] have got a lot of enthusiasm. They’ve got a lot of talent, and they’re smart players.”
The Terriers entered the half with a 1-0 lead, outshooting the Black Knights (4-6-5, 2-2-3 Patriot League) 7-4.
The Terriers came out of the locker room in determined pursuit of a second goal. Both De Bona and junior forward Mark Wadid were denied early on by Army goalkeeper Chris Britt.
Britt played well in goal all game, making 10 saves while fending off an aggressive BU offense.
Britt’s counterpart, junior goalkeeper Matt Gilbert, had a relatively quiet afternoon with three saves. He did not make a save until the 60th minute of the game.
Gilbert’s sole mistake of the afternoon came during the 58th minute when the Black Knights scored on a quick counterattack.
Forward Okheem Riley dribbled the ball deep into the box and found senior Cody Guerry cutting to the goal. Army’s leading scorer held off a defender as he shot it past Gilbert to tie the game at 1-1.
Throughout the match, both teams played physical soccer, combining for 34 fouls. In spite of the Black Knights’ physicality, the Terriers controlled possession and spread the field.
“Against big physical teams, we try to make them play our game,” Roberts said.
The Terriers had a few corner kicks late in the second half, but did not capitalize on them.
In the two overtime periods, BU controlled most of the possession and managed three shots on goal but came away with nothing to show for it.
Although BU did not earn a victory, there was still reason for optimism following the game. Sophomore midfielder Anthony Viteri returned to the field for the first time since suffering an injury at Brown University on Oct. 13.
Prior to his injury, the St. John’s University transfer led the conference in goals scored. Viteri came off the bench and had four shots in 62 minutes played.
“He wasn’t sharp, but we got him some minutes, and as the game went on, he got better and better,” Roberts said. “He’s an extremely talented player, and before he was injured, he was pretty much the heart of our team. We fed off of his work ethic, so it would be good to get that back again.”
With key players getting healthy as the end of the regular season approaches, the Terriers have reason to remain optimistic about their chances in the Patriot League Tournament.
“We want to be playing well going into the tournament,” Roberts said. “We’ve got one game left and some things we can still get better at. We know we can compete with anyone in the league, even as young as we are.”
