The Boston University Terriers defeated the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds 1-0 on the road in Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday afternoon, earning their second consecutive Patriot League victory.
After a back-and-forth first half, the Terriers (4-3-6, 2-1-3 PL) converted a penalty kick through senior midfielder Quinn Matulis in the 49th minute, which proved to be the game-winner over the defending PL champion Greyhounds (4-5-4, 2-2-2 PL).
“[It was] a really gritty, team performance by us today to get three points on the road,” BU head coach Kevin Nylen said. “[I’m] pumped for the guys, really proud of them and how they were disciplined.”
The first half was an even affair between the two teams — the Terriers and Greyhounds mustered five shots each.
The Terriers’ best chance of the first half came following a corner in the 17th minute when graduate student defender Evan Morrison headed it down to junior midfielder Andrew Rent. Loyola’s sophomore goalkeeper Alex Bobocea made a diving save to deny BU. Loyola had their own chances, including a strike from junior forward Loc San in the 23rd minute, but BU’s senior goalkeeper Francesco Montali made a save to keep the game 0-0.
“I actually thought we had the better of opportunities in the first half,” Nylen said. “I thought that we found some really good pockets and had some good combinations. We just weren’t clean enough in the final third.”
Loyola started the second half on the front foot. In the 46th minute, Loyola’s freshman midfielder Sean McEvoy made a run but had a powerful shot on goal denied by Montali.
BU was given a huge chance in the 49th minute when Loyola senior defender Matthew Lala handled the ball inside the box, leading to a penalty for the Terriers. BU’s Matulis took the penalty and dispatched it past Bobocea to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead.
Loyola responded to BU’s goal with chances of their own. First, junior midfielder Marco Bla tested Montali in net with an effort in the 66th minute. Then, just three minutes later, Loyola’s graduate student forward Kelan Swales had a long-range effort saved by Montali to preserve the Terriers’ lead.
“I thought towards the end we really had to drop in. We didn’t need to chase as much,” said Nylen. “We’ve had six clean sheets this year. I’m really proud of that.”
Loyola’s second-half pressure showed up on the stat sheet as they ended the match with a 12-7 advantage in shots.
The Terriers will look to pick up a third consecutive victory when they travel to play crosstown rival Northeastern University on Oct. 18 at 6 p.m.
