Three hundred seventy-one days after the same fixture last season, the Boston University men’s soccer team faced off against Colgate University in the Patriot League tournament semifinal at Nickerson Field on Tuesday night.
But this time, the result favored the away team 1-0.
“A big takeaway from this group is we’re tough to be beat,” said BU head coach Kevin Nylen. “Tonight’s our fourth loss in 18 games, and that’s just in the last three months. We didn’t score a ton of goals this year, but we have a resilient group.”
The Terriers (4-4-10, 4-1-4 Patriot League) came into Tuesday’s match recognizing two juniors with major PL awards: midfielder of the year for Diego Rived and defensive player of the year for Quin DeLaMater.
“I was really happy to see that people identified that Quinn and Diego were two top players in our conference, and to see their maturation, to see how far they’ve come because of their work,” Nylen said.
Despite being largely on the back foot the entire game, Colgate (8-8-3, 4-3-2 PL), found itself with a free kick in its attacking half. The Terriers failed to clear out of the box before Raider forward Timmy Donovan scored the team’s first and only shot of the game.
Following that setback, BU recorded 13 more shots, dominating possession and spending a majority of the game on the brink of a breakthrough.
The Terriers’ first good chance in the second half dribbled in front of the goal off the outside of junior forward Damola Salami’s right foot. Junior forward Alex Bonnington was unable to intercept the ball before it rolled wide and over the goal line.
Sixty-five minutes in, Rived, who was just feet beyond the edge of the 18-yard box, bent one toward the upper left corner of the goal, only for the skillful strike to be saved by Colgate goalkeeper Oliver Townend.
The senior Raider ensured that one shot and one goal was all the visitors would need, later punching DeLaMater’s strong attempt from distance over the crossbar with just six minutes remaining.
The final shot, taken by senior midfielder Aidan Holmes, sailed well over goal, leaving the fourth-seeded Raiders in possession of a semifinal redemption and a spot in the PL Final.
For the Terriers, this meant the extent of their repeat campaign would only go as far as the PL regular season title, but a third top-two seeding in five seasons goes far.
“Our program has been unbelievable and what these guys do every day to raise the bar and raise the level has been pretty fun to watch,” said Nylen. “This year was full of adversity … Our group has battled and battled, and I’m really proud of them.”
The future looks promising, and for those who remain on the team, the countdown begins toward August. But for the group of seniors and graduate students, their time in scarlet and white came to a difficult conclusion on that brisk midweek evening.
“I tip my hat off to our group, the nine seniors who have pushed our program forward since the day they came here four or five years ago,” Nylen said. “It’s not the outcome we were hoping for tonight, but we regroup.”
Nylen’s sixth season with the team is set to kick off in nine months with a different kind of hunger, having once tasted ultimate conference success.
