Before the Saturday afternoon kickoff, the Boston University men’s soccer team sat sixth in the Patriot League and hosted a Bucknell University squad tied for first.
Preseason rankings had predicted nearly the reverse with BU (2-3-8, 2-1-2 Patriot League) picked to finish second and Bucknell (4-5-3, 2-1-2 PL) expected to finish last alongside Lehigh University. The Terriers’ 1-0 win over the Bison aligned with the polls and handed Bucknell its first Patriot League loss of the season.
In the first half, neither team broke through, but the Terriers looked more likely to snap the scoreless streak as they monopolized possession. They recorded all shots through 36 minutes, with two of five on target.
“I think we had some spells where we had some good service, some good wide play, and put some balls in the box,” head coach Kevin Nylen said. “[We] didn’t see any goals in the first half, but I thought we created some chances, and you’ve got to be able to put your chances away.”
Bucknell sophomore midfielder Jack Lucas put a shot wide for the last attempt at a goal from either team before halftime.
On the other side of the break, neither BU nor Bucknell were able to capitalize on early free kick opportunities to start a more balanced frame.
“I think they were probably pretty comfortable in holding a deeper line [in the first half], and then in the second half, obviously extended a little more,” Nylen said.
After more back-and-forth runs of possession into the 71st minute of the match, junior midfielder Diego Rived fed a pass to sophomore forward Andrea Di Blasio, who drifted inside and skipped a low shot into the back of the netting for his team-leading third goal of the season and his second game-winner in the Terriers’ two wins.
“When you get in those positions, you want to beat your man and shoot,” Di Blasio said. “I tried my best doing that, and I got the shot off. I got to put it on target, and it went in. I’m glad that happened, and I’m glad Diego played me the ball.”
Bucknell freshman forward and reigning Patriot League rookie of the week Drew Roskos shot just wide 10 minutes later to test the Terrier lead.
Immediately following in the 84th minute, BU was left defending back-to-back-to-back corners, the second forcing a quick-reaction save by graduate goalkeeper Andrew Wike to keep both the lead and his shutout alive for the first Terrier clean sheet since the first game of the season back in August. Wike’s performance landed him PL Goalkeeper of the Week honor.
Conference standings have shaken up. The Terriers are now tied for second on eight points with Bucknell and Colgate University as Lehigh takes the top spot after five games.
“[Bucknell is] coming in at the top of the conference, and so for us to keep a clean sheet and have to defend our box and a couple corners and long throws towards the end of the game, gives our group more confidence as we continue to move forward,” Nylen said.
Boasting a .600 win percentage compared to .375 in non-conference competition, the Terriers have looked much stronger against Patriot League opponents, and they have four games remaining to build on that.
Next, BU heads to Hamilton, New York, on Oct. 19 to rematch a tense 2023 Patriot League semifinal against Colgate. The Terriers return to Nickerson Field for one last regular season home game against American University the following week on Oct. 26.
“I would imagine [Colgate has] had this game circled since we played them last year, but it’s always a tough game,” Nylen said. “Colgate is an organized side. They’re a well-coached side, so [it’s] a really big game with three more points on the table next Saturday.”