The Boston University men’s soccer team traveled to Providence, Rhode Island Wednesday night to take on Ivy League opponent Brown University in its final game before Patriot League play.
The Terriers (0-5-1) scored a second-half goal and survived a vicious Bears (1-2-1) offensive attack in the final minutes of regulation to end the match in a 1-1 draw.
Senior forward Matt McDonnell scored the tying goal in the 60th minute off a pass from freshman midfielder Marc Roura as he earned his second goal of the season.
In the final five minutes of regulation the Terriers endured five shots from Brown, including one shot saved by junior goalkeeper William Bonnelyche and a shot that went off the crossbar plus the ensuing rebound.
BU head coach Neil Roberts said it wasn’t the result the team was looking for, but it was good experience for the team.
“I wish we could’ve gotten more points but it’s good to get at least a point out of it on the road,” Roberts said. “Our guys tried to get the win, it wasn’t like they played for the draw or anything like that and young kids got to play a lot. I think it was like five or six freshmen that got a lot of playing time.”
The Bears drew first blood in the 22nd minute with a slick series of passes that found sophomore forward Alex Mina who proceeded to deliver a one-timer to the back of the net to earn his first goal of the season.
The Brown defense smothered the Terrier offense for the majority of the first half, leaving BU with six shots and only one on goal. The shot on goal came late in the half too, coming after more than 30 minutes of not having any shots challenge the opposing goalkeeper.
Despite the strong Bears defense, the Terriers equalized in the 60th minute off the boot of McDonnell to net his second goal of the season and make it consecutive games with a goal.
In the final 12 minutes of regulation, both teams had a flurry of offensive chances to try to take the lead.
In the 78th minute the Terriers had a shot blocked by a Bears defender, the ensuing corner kick was then cleared.
Brown was called offsides and the Terriers followed up with a corner kick opportunity in the 82nd minute. Junior back Elias Lampis got a head on it but his shot was blocked and 30 seconds later another Terrier header was sent wide of the net.
A BU foul set the Bears up with possession in the 85th minute, setting up a whirlwind of shots for Brown.
The Bears had a corner kick but the shot off the cross was sent wide. Not one minute later the Bears fired back with a shot that was saved by Bonnelyche.
Before Bonnelyche got a chance to breathe, another shot came in 20 seconds later that slammed off the crossbar and the rebound went to a Bear player but his shot was sent wide. The last shot came in the 88th minute off of Mina’s foot but it also went wide.
Roberts said both teams were trying hard to get a win to end non-conference play which led to the outburst of offensive chances.
“It was kind of a crazy game,” Roberts said. “I think both teams, in a non-conference game, were just trying to get a win.”
In the first overtime the Terriers came within inches of winning their first game of the season but a shot from senior midfielder Satchel Cortet went off the post.
The Bears threatened in the final minutes, but in the end neither team could put in the deciding goal and the game ended in a tie.
The Terriers finished the game with 16 shots, but only three on goal, and the Bears finished with 17 shots with five being on target.
The game was ill-tempered, with Brown making 16 fouls and BU close behind with 12.
On Saturday the Terriers open up conference play against Lafayette College (4-1-1) in Easton, Pennsylvania. Last season BU and the Leopards played to a 0-0 draw at Nickerson Field.
Roberts said the team begins the real season with conference play approaching.
“We’ve got to regroup tomorrow, it all starts tomorrow,” Roberts said. “Season number two starts tomorrow, obviously season number one wasn’t what we’d hoped for, but now we have to get ready for Lafayette.”
