The Boston University men’s soccer team (3-2) saw their two-game run of success come to an end Wednesday night against Merrimack College (1-3), losing 2-0 to the Warriors away in North Andover.
The first half was unkind to the Terriers and saw them outshot by Merrimack four to nine, with graduate student midfielder Colin Innes’ shot straight to Merrimack junior goalkeeper Alvaro Rodriguez, the lone strike on target for BU in the half.
Merrimack dominated from the early minutes, but a blocked BU shot set up a one-on-one run for Merrimack sophomore midfielder Laurie Goddard that saw senior goalkeeper Andrew Wike foul Goddard just inside the 18-yard box.
Merrimack got on the board in the 42nd minute with a successful penalty kick taken by graduate forward Johan Feilscher that found the top right of the goal as Wike dove left.
In the final minute of the half, Merrimack doubled their lead when junior forward Michael Koralishn, after being subbed on two minutes prior, slipped a shot just under the crossbar, giving the Terriers an even steeper hill to climb on the other side of halftime.
Head coach Kevin Nylen has frequently noted the team’s second-half struggles in the Terrier’s past few games. On Wednesday, they managed to improve in the latter half despite the considerably disappointing first half performance.
“We were better in the second half … because we continued to play and showed moments of [promise] but at the end of the day, you can’t play 30, you can’t play 45, you have to play a full 90,” Nylen said.
BU did appear more threatening in the final 45 minutes, outshooting Merrimack eight to four and doubling their own corner count from the first half.
A duo of late shots appeared to be the Terriers’ best chance at a comeback, but junior midfielder Daniel Kim’s header deflected off the left post and fell straight in front of Rodriguez in goal. Minutes later, senior midfielder Eitan Rosen sent one high and to the right.
The Terriers recorded one last-ditch shot as time ran out, but, as had been the case for the duration of the game, Merrimack easily handled the BU opportunity and blocked it as time ran out.
“[The improvement was] a little too late, and it’s not a complete performance,” Nylen said.
Until tonight, Merrimack had yet to find the back of the net in their three winless games, recording 30 shots and seven on goal, a shots on goal tally they matched in the game against BU.
On the other hand, Wednesday’s defeat marked the first time the Terriers were shutout by an opponent this season.
The Terriers now have just over a week before opening Patriot League play at home against Lehigh University, who have yet to record a win in their first four contests.
“We need to be able to recover, and then we need to be able to regroup and train a little in preparation for a really good Lehigh team,” Nylen said.
BU will host Lehigh at Nickerson Field on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 5 p.m.
