And it finally clicked.
After fighting tooth and nail for just four wins in 11 games, the Boston University men’s soccer team finally found its flow in the 12th match-up of the season, trouncing Harvard University, 3-0. The win marked just the second shutout for the Terriers and the first time this season the squad has recorded back-to-back wins.
“I think the big thing today was really playing well,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “In the Albany game we won, we fought – we did what we needed to do to win the game. Today, we played well.
“If you look at our team through out the year, it’s had so many different lineups,” he continued. “We just haven’t been able to get into a flow. And I think since preseason, today was the first time that we were really in the flow.”
But it looked like the Crimson were going to get on the board first, when freshman Anthony Tijero carried the ball down the side and connected with junior forward Charles Altchek as he slipped through for a one-on-one with BU’s junior goalkeeper Chad Comroe, splitting the Terrier defense.
But Comroe was determined to get his first win of the 2005 season. The captain slid just in time to tip the shot away. Still, the Crimson forward regained possession on the left of the Terrier goal, facing an open goal mouth. Under virtually no Terrier pressure, Altchek sailed his shot over the crossbar. It would be a missed opportunity Harvard would come to regret.
Just 13:42 into the second half, with the score tied 0-0, Terrier senior Sedrick Chin notched a team-leading third goal when junior Felix Vincent beat Crimson goalie Ryan Johnson to a high pass into the box from junior back Zach Kirby. Vincent threaded the ball to the far post, where Chin filled an empty net.
“In the first half, I had a few chances and just messed up,” Chin said. “So I just wanted to make up for it.”
BU only kept going.
With 9:17 remaining in regulation, sophomore forward Roland Erlichman – making his first appearance since an injury against UMass-Amherst on Sept. 28 – carried the ball down the pitch, dishing it to Chin on the left side. Chin lofted it to freshman Neil Hlavaty, who was waiting at the far post. Hlavaty settled it and slotted it back to Erlichman.
Erlichman, who seemed unable to pull the trigger earlier this season, pulled it hard last night – right into the back of the Crimson net.
“That’s just different, playing with Roland up top – you can see the difference,” Chin said. “Roland’s just a different kind of forward.”
Chin and Erlichman combined for 16 of the Terriers’ 36 goals last season.
“It’s always great having Roland and Sedrick up there,” Comroe said. “You never know what they’re gonna do.”
“I think we saw Sedrick and Roland playing together really well for the first time, so that’s a good sign,” Roberts said. “They’re really looking good together, like they did last year.”
The final goal of the contest came less than four minutes later, again from Chin. The senior dribbled down the field, outmaneuvering three Harvard defenders, traveling across the box and finally lining a shot just beyond the reach of a diving Johnson, bringing the score to 3-0 – a score that would stay.
Now, the Terriers hope to carry this win through their five remaining conference games and stay away from the play that found them little success earlier this season.
“It’s been a struggle because of the situation, but they’ve dealt with it extremely well,” Roberts said. “I might have been on the suicide watch, but they were doing fine with it.”