After a month of ups and downs, the Boston University men’s soccer team closed out September on Saturday afternoon the same way it started: with a .500 record.
And after this weekend’s 1-0 loss to UMass-Amherst at Rudd Field, just how much the Terriers have improved since their opening day loss to Boston College remains relatively hazy.
For starters, the Terriers cannot seem to figure out how to keep the ball on their feet during crucial stretches.
All but two of the goals allowed by BU this year have come off turnovers in the midfield or deep in its defensive zone, while the defense allowed more shots in September (101) than any defense in Terrier history.
But in a game defined by back-and-forth play, justifying the Terriers’ struggles as simply “possession issues” doesn’t seem to tag a team that recorded fewer turnovers than its opposition in two of its four losses, not to mention that the Terriers have committed 130 fouls – two fewer than their opponents.
What has truly hampered the Terriers this season has been their inability to capitalize on opportunities, both in the offensive and defensive zones, something that was highlighted in Saturday’s loss.
Coming off a week that saw BU hold off both the University of Central Florida and University of Rhode Island, the Terriers opened the match with a controlled tempo that garnered them almost 30 minutes of possession in the first half.
Capped off by a corner kick opportunity late in the period, the Terriers maintained their systematic attack, limiting UMass to just five shots and two legitimate scoring opportunities.
“Defensively, we really didn’t give them any chances,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “They probably had one legit chance, maybe two at the most, so that was good. We didn’t let them break us down.”
However, the Terriers fell back into a careless lull that has affected them all seasoning, as they allowed a bouncing ball off a throw-in along the six-yard line to result in the Minutemen’s winning tally.
“[Sophomore goalkeeper Hrafn Davidsson] came for it but didn’t get to it,” Roberts said. “He got there late and punched it down, but it bounced around the six. We had two chances to clear it – enough people were back there to clear it – but we just didn’t react in time. We missed the chance and they capitalized on it.”
Forced to play from behind for the first time in more than a week and a half, the patience that gave the Terriers their scoring chances in the first half vanished, as the sloppy passing that undermined their efforts against Santa Clara University and Harvard University earlier this season limited their second-half production.
Opting to force the ball into tight space, the midfield transition game failed to reach BU’s front two, as starting forwards Jin Oh and Aaron O’Neal didn’t record a shot on goal.
“We just weren’t careful when we had the ball,” Roberts said. “When we had an opportunity, we made a bad decision. We had no patience, and it hurt us. We didn’t hit our front runners and we got outworked.”
With just one non-conference game remaining, the Terriers will have one more shot to prove they can put the spotty early-season play behind them heading into league play.
“It was very disappointing,” Roberts continued. “We had a good week of training, coming off two good games. We felt good, we just didn’t do the things that had been working over the past few weeks. We have a day of practice before [Brown University]. We don’t have a lot of time, but that might be a good thing for us.”
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