Though the Boston University men’s soccer team came away with a 1-0 overtime victory against Dartmouth College at Nickerson Field, injuries plagued the team on Tuesday night and look to be a problem moving forward.
The Terriers (5-5-2, 1-2-2 Patriot League) sustained a number of injuries during the victory, a match that became increasingly physical as time went on.
These injuries spell additional trouble for the Terriers, who have already had to shift their gameplan after losing star junior midfielder Anthony Viteri to a head injury in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Lafayette University.
BU head coach Neil Roberts described Viteri’s status as “day-to-day,” and admitted that he has been forced to adopt a different strategy in his absence.
“We played differently, it was a totally different formation,” Roberts said.
BU was met with additional trouble during the game against Dartmouth (4-3-5), as senior goalkeeper Matt Gilbert, sophomore defenders Ben Valek and Colin Chiakpo, and junior backup goalkeeper Bjorn Kammholz all went down at some point during the game. It appears as if Valek, Kammholz and Chiakpo will be ready to go for the next game, but Gilbert’s status is uncertain.
Gilbert went down after making a save late in the first half, and was able to remain in the game until halftime, but was clearly in pain. In the minutes leading up to the second half, both Gilbert and Kammholz warmed up, with Gilbert playing up until the 65-minute mark, at which point Kammholz entered and finished the game.
“For [Gilbert] to have to come out of the game, he’s not in a good spot,” Roberts said.
Roberts was unable to offer any timetable for the return of the 2015 Patriot League All-Conference First Team selection, though.
While Kammholz was able to hold down the fort defensively for the Terriers, heading on the road to face conference opponents without Gilbert would be a difficult test for this team. Gilbert has been instrumental in the majority of BU victories this season, and has recorded 61 saves thus far.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the status of some of their key players, the Terriers’ leading scorer, senior forward Felix De Bona, feels confident about the team’s future.
“We have a great group of guys, and we have a person to substitute at any time, and they’ll be ready to play,” De Bona said. “[Viteri’s] been vocal, he’s been helping other guys that are guys that are going in for him, so that helps a lot.”
Roberts said that both senior midfielder David Asbjornsson and junior midfielder Adam Sheikali, who missed Tuesday night’s game, will be ready to suit up for the Terriers on Saturday.
“I think both of them could have played tonight,” Roberts said. “We just felt that with our situation, it was better to rest them for this weekend.”
Their returns will be crucial, as an ailing Terriers side is set to go on a grueling stretch to close the regular season. Roberts’ team plays three games from Oct. 22 to Oct. 29, all of which are against Patriot League opponents. The test begins Saturday in Pennsylvania against Lehigh University.
