The Boston University men’s soccer match was delayed —due to a campus-wide power outage — before what would end up being a scoreless 90 minutes against Boston College.
After a tough loss at Colgate University last weekend when the Terriers allowed three goals and scored none, the Terriers (2-2-3, 0-1 Patriot League) bounced back and shut out the Eagles (2-2-3).
The power went out at Nickerson Field about 20 minutes before gametime, shutting down the overhead lights as well as the scoreboard and speaker system. Most of the necessary technological function returned less than 15 minutes after the game was supposed to start. However, the scoreboard remained bright green for the first hour of the match before it eventually began showing live footage of play like usual.
Before the game started, both teams honored Team IMPACT night. Team IMPACT is a non-profit organization that matches children with chronic illnesses and disabilities with college sports programs across the United States. Pierce and Reese, the kids matched with the Terriers and the Eagles respectively, joined the players as they took the field for introductions and the national anthem.
“The game brings you so much, and sometimes there’s more to life than the game,” BU head coach Kevin Nylen said. “Tonight, both programs got to come together through our partnerships with Team Impact and honor Reese from BC and honor Pierce from BU.”
The Terriers started the game aggressively. In the second minute, sophomore midfielder Brian Hernandez aired a shot while battling one-on-one with senior defender Victor Souza of BC, missing high.
Freshman defender C.J. Williams of BC was given a yellow card not long after within the fourth minute.
Senior midfielder Quinn Matulis nailed the crossbar, narrowly missing the first score with the free kick awarded by the yellow card.
The Eagles’ first shot of the match came from midfield over ten minutes in when freshman midfielder Camilo Ponce sent the ball into the ivy wall beyond the field of play.
Over 20 minutes passed before either team made any offensive action. Both teams made substitutions in the 32nd minute, with four Eagles being subbed out.
Only three minutes later, the game’s first corner was given to BC over 35 minutes into the game, with freshman midfielder Ted Cargill making the kick. The kick was batted away by multiple defenders clustered around the goal before landing in front of graduate midfielder Adrian Zenko of BC.
Zenko booted the ball straight into senior goalkeeper Francesco Montali’s arms. Montali made the first save of the game.
The Terriers’ offense began to pick up shortly after the save with an impressive sequence in front of the BC goal before the ball was knocked out of the end line, setting up a goal kick for junior goalkeeper Leon Musial of BC.
With three minutes left in the half, freshman forward Diego Rived made the last shot before the halftime break, only to have Musial jump on top of the ball near the end line.
“I think we had some chances in the first half, specifically early on with Brian. There’s a couple of other chances, whether they’re half chances or not,” Nylen said. “[In] the first half, we’re walking away, and we’re saying ‘Hey, listen, we look at one thing based upon what [BC was] doing, and now how can we continue to push on?’”
The Eagles went into the second half hot with two shots by senior midfielders Amos Shapiro-Thompson and Walker Davey, both made in the first three minutes. Montali made the save on the second attempt.
Shapiro-Thompson would go on to make two additional shots, the latter on the goal. BC maintained offensive control of the ball for much of the second half, shooting six additional times, while BU only shot twice in the entire 45 minutes.
“They probably had a little more of the ball in the second half than in the first, but I thought it was an overall really solid performance by our team tonight,” Nylen said.
The Terriers maintained their trend of putting together a solid defense throughout the game, with Montali finishing the game with seven saves. Throughout the seven games of the season, BU has only given up seven goals.
“I mean anytime you have a clean sheet, I think it speaks volumes not only on the goalkeeper, and tonight, that’s on [Montali], but on the team in the group defending,” Nylen said.
The Terriers will continue Patriot League play with a Pride Night matchup against Lafayette College on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. coming up next.
