Soccer, Sports

Anthony Viteri’s heroics help men’s soccer to third straight win

PHOTO BY ANN SINGER/DFP FILE PHOTO
Sophomore midfielder Anthony Viteri propelled the Terriers to victory with his overtime goal vs. Colgate. PHOTO BY ANN SINGER/DFP FILE PHOTO

In Wednesday’s Patriot League showdown, the Boston University men’s soccer team defeated Colgate University, 1-0, in overtime, in Hamilton, New York.

This marked the Terriers’ (7-2-1, 2-0-1 Patriot League) third straight win, and extended their unbeaten streak to five games. The Raiders (4-5-1, 1-2 Patriot League) dropped their third game in a row to fall below .500 overall and in conference play.

Throughout the game, both opponents were equally matched. Like last year’s matchup, the Raiders outshot BU despite suffering defeat.

“Today was a difficult game,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “[Colgate] played well. They counterattacked very well and they had a lot of numbers behind the ball. They were dangerous at times.”

The hero of this game for BU was none other than sophomore midfielder and St. John’s University transfer Anthony Viteri.

With just over four minutes gone in overtime, Viteri struck a cross from freshman midfielder Magnus Benediktsson past Raiders goalkeeper Ricky Brown.

“[Freshman midfielder] Troy [Phoa] played it into Magnus,” Roberts said. “Then Magnus laid a first time ball off and put Viteri through, and Anthony beat him near post.”

After scoring the game-winning goal, Viteri was greeted by his fellow teammates running onto the field to celebrate.

The game-winner was Viteri’s sixth goal of the season, which is good for best in the Patriot League. In addition, Viteri continues to lead the conference in points per game and goals per game.

Helping Viteri on offense was sophomore midfielder David Amirani, who had four shots on the night, three of them being on goal.

 On the defensive side of the ball, junior goalkeeper Matt Gilbert had eight saves in his fifth shutout of the season. This was Gilbert’s third consecutive shutout, and it comes a day after he was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America College Player of the Week.

“He’s playing well, and the team’s playing well in front of him,” Roberts said. “He’s doing his job in goal. He was very efficient today. Nothing bounced around. In the beginning of the game, he made a really nice save.”

Gilbert and the BU defense were relied heavily upon in the first half, having to face nine shots from Colgate, with Gilbert needing to save five of them.

BU was also active on the offensive end in the first half, generating eight shots. Despite both teams starting the match aggressive on offense, neither side had anything to show for it on the scoreboard.

In the second half, both teams played tighter defensively, as there were only nine total shots in the second period, compared to 17 in the first.

Forward Ethan Kutler was the main offensive threat for the Raiders. Kutler, Colgate’s leader in every major offensive category, relentlessly attacked the net all night. He finished the game with eight shots, accounting for more than half of the Raiders’ total, with six of them being on goal.

The Terriers were able to hold off late scoring chances by Kutler to force the game into overtime, where Viteri finally broke the tie and won the game.

“We’re happy with the results,” Roberts said. “We’re capable of better. I think we kind of got thrown off our game plan a little bit. Even though we were on the road, I think we are capable of imposing our game on teams. We did it in the second half and in overtime.”

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  1. Love this article !!!