The Boston University men’s soccer team visited Loyola University Maryland Saturday afternoon for a 2-2 draw, riding on a positive start to conference play and sharing points with a tough side.
“To come on the road to get a point against a team like Loyola, who’s very good at their place, there’s great value for our team,” BU head coach Kevin Nylen said.
Though Loyola and BU were preseason favorites to finish first and second in the Patriot League, they met after shaky starts to their seasons. Without a win after one conference gameweek, the Greyhounds (0-4-3, 0-1-1 PL) sit at the bottom of conference standings, while the Terriers (1-2-5, 1-0-1 PL) are recovering from a 5-1 thrashing at Brown University Tuesday night.
A loss that could have easily started a negative trend for BU appeared to be a one-time blip. BU came in revved up and confident just days later at Loyola’s Ridley Athletic Complex.
“Our group continues to grow, and I think that’s a telling sign of our continued maturation. We are not a finished product right now … [and] I’m okay with that,” Nylen said. “To show what we showed in the first 45 [minutes] after what took place four days ago, that’s a good moment for our group.”
The first sign of redemption came in the opening minutes as sophomore forward Andrea Di Blasio threatened the Greyhound goal, but missed just barely.
Ten minutes later, junior defender Ryan Lau received the ball on the penalty arc, where he ripped a low shot to get the Terriers on the board first. Lau has been a defensive centerpiece for the team in recent seasons, but he had never quite clicked in the goals column.
“Last year, we joked [how] every time he took a shot, it was off target,” Nylen said. “So for him to find one today, I’m super proud of him … As a left back, it’s not natural to score goals, but for him to find the score sheet today shows our continued balance.”
That balance is apparent this season — 11 Terriers have earned a goal or assist so far.
Recording goals in the preseason and leading the team in shots, junior forward Damola Salami found lots of involvement in the Terrier attack this season. He finally saw that materialize 40 minutes into Saturday’s game, when he notched the Terriers’ second point on the board with an assist by senior forward Andrew Rent.
“[Salami has] given us solid minutes and performances, and I think you saw that today coming off the bench again,” Nylen said.
Unfortunately for the Terriers, Loyola managed to double its season goals total in just one half, putting two past BU goalkeepers in the 50th and 78th minutes.
Loyola freshman forward Ólafur Darri Sigurjónsson netted the equalizer and left BU searching for “a full-90” performance, as Nylen puts it.
With both sides playing for a change in momentum and in defense of their preseason rankings, the game saw heightened physicality, as seen through the 22 fouls and five yellow cards across both teams.
“There were times that we were not as clean in terms of just our defensive starting spots, but I think as a whole, we’ve dug in,” Nylen said. “And I thought the guys did a pretty good job today, [with] stuff to work on [going forward].”
Still, the Terriers are viewing the result as largely positive as they look forward to a local derby against Boston College on Tuesday at 6 p.m. on Nickerson Field.
