The upperclassmen trio of senior forward Felix De Bona, senior goalkeeper Matt Gilbert and junior midfielder Anthony Viteri led the Boston University men’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over Patriot League rival Lafayette College on Saturday at Nickerson Field.
The Terriers (4-5-2, 1-2-2 Patriot League) earned their first victory since Sept. 20, and head coach Neil Roberts was blunt in his assessment of the team’s efforts.
“We needed it,” Roberts said. “We still got a long way to go. We just need points at this point.”
While it came out on top on the scoresheet, BU allowed a penalty kick and was outshot 9-2 in the shots on goal category, which is why Gilbert had such a big impact on the game’s outcome.
De Bona, who has scored the Terriers’ last three goals, was the lone goalscorer in Saturday’s win against the Leopards (6-7-1, 0-1 Patriot League).
Roberts has shown that he has a great deal of trust in the Somerville native, leaving him in when the Terriers went to a more defensive setup to protect the lead.
“He worked hard to get to the goal and put them under pressure,” Roberts said. “He’s been playing well, and he’s starting to get more comfortable.”
De Bona’s goal came in the 18th minute when junior midfielder David Amirani sent a long through ball initially out of the forward’s reach.
Lafayette goalkeeper Brad Seeber charged towards the loose ball, but was beaten by De Bona, who dangled around Seeber before shooting into a net guarded by two Lafayette defensemen for the decisive 1-0 lead.
On the defensive side, Gilbert bounced back from allowing three goals in a 3-3 draw against Loyola University Maryland last weekend by putting in a very strong performance on Saturday.
The Patriot League leader in saves per game (5.27), Gilbert preserved the lead — and the eventual shutout — with a save against freshman Evan Vare, the Leopards’ leading scorer, in the 27th minute.
He read the shot well and made the save look easy against Vare, who has six goals on the year and registered a game-high eight shots.
Roberts liked what he saw from Gilbert, and is proud of the way he bounced back following a difficult stretch. However, Gilbert was quick to direct the success to his teammates ahead of him.
“It was a great performance from the boys,” Gilbert said. “Can’t ask them for anything more.”
Viteri, one of the key performers Gilbert was alluding to, once again produced strong play in a sometimes lagging midfield.
He created space for himself and his teammates all game, while still providing good defense to protect the shutout. He was constantly a threat with seven shots, half of BU’s total for the game.
However, late in the second half a free kick was awarded to Lafayette, and they committed several players into the box. BU matched their numbers, and in the chaos Viteri collided hard with several players.
Though it is unclear whether Viteri’s collision was with teammates or Lafayette players, Roberts is certain that the team will be without the Flushing, New York when it takes on Dartmouth College at home on Tuesday night. As for his status in future games, that remains to be seen.
“We’ll have to wait,” Roberts said. “He definitely won’t be in there next game, but we’ll see and hopefully will be out for not too long.”
The Terriers will look to do some damage in Viteri’s absence, as with only four league contests left before the Patriot League tournament, every game is critical.
