The Boston University men’s soccer team lost 3-1 on the road against Lehigh University Saturday night.
The Terriers (1-3-6, 1-1-1 Patriot League) put the pressure on immediately in the first five minutes of the game. Junior defender Quin DeLaMater and junior midfielder Diego Rived took shots at the net, but it wasn’t enough to get a point.
BU played a dominant first half, connecting passes, but couldn’t get a goal of its own. Toward the end of the half, Lehigh (3-6-1, 2-1 PL) had the upper hand and put itself on the scoreboard with a goal from freshman midfielder Aiden Gonzalez.
“You can’t really train to be on the road,” head coach Kevin Nylen said. “You don’t know what kind of calls you’re gonna get, so there’s just so many elements that you can’t control.”
The Terriers have struggled in away games, as they took a heavy 5-1 loss to Brown University on Sept. 17. With a record of 0-1-3 in road games, BU looks to improve upon these losses.
“Tonight’s another experience for us to grow,” Nylen said. “So now, how can we try to be better? It’s going to be difficult, but it’s definitely not anything that’s not doable.”
Entering the second half, BU came out with the same energy and secured a goal with a low center shot by sophomore forward Keke Abai and assisted by DeLaMater. Abai was the 10th Terrier to score a goal this season, and DeLaMater became the third to make two assists.
Spirits were high for the Terriers, but shortly after BU scored, the Mountain Hawks made their first goal. Lehigh junior defender Sam Davis slipped the ball past BU’s keeper to put the Mountain Hawks back in the lead.
Just minutes later, Gonzalez scored another goal, widening the gap –– the Terriers were trailing by two. After multiple BU substitutions late into the second half, both teams fought in a back-and-forth scuffle of unsuccessful shots. With three yellow cards flagging each team from the midpoint of the half until the final minute of the game, contention ran hot. In the end, BU could not prevail.
“It’s more us being not focused for 90 minutes, quite frankly,” Nylen said. “Every coach can say that, but it’s moment after moment in your mental fortitude to be able to get through that, and we’ve still got to grow from that.”
Despite the result, the Terriers can still make a comeback, as their conference record sits at 1-1-1.
“The sun will rise tomorrow,” Nylen said. “We will get up and we will get back to it.”
The Terriers are set to face Lafayette College at Nickerson Field on Oct. 5 at 4 p.m.
