Offense has been the biggest issue for the Boston University men’s soccer team this year. In the America East semifinals on Wednesday, the offensive struggles ended the team’s season when it was shutout 1-0 by the University of Hartford to end BU’s season.
For the second-consecutive year, the Terriers (9-9, 5-2 America East) finished the regular season atop the America East before falling in the semifinals.
“It is disappointing. We had to break people down in certain areas of the field and we didn’t do it,” said BU head coach Neil Roberts. “The effort was there, we are just disappointed we didn’t get the finish.”
Neither team was able to take advantage in the first half thanks to some sharp defensive play. The only chance for either team came off the head of Hartford (8-8-4, 3-2-2) forward Anthony Santaga, but an impressive diving stop by freshman goalkeeper Nick Thomson kept the game level.
But just over 10 minutes into the second half, Hartford freshman Atobra Ampadu took a pass from sophomore David Bernhardsson and rocketed a shot off the left post for the only goal of the game.
The Terriers needed to answer quickly, and freshman forward Dominique Badji came within inches of doing so twice between the 27th minute and the 24th minute.
Badji rang a low shot off the right post in the 27th minute that rolled along the goal line before being cleared by a Hartford defender.
Three minutes later, the America East Rookie of the Year headed a shot off over the reach of goalkeeper Luke Citriniti, only to be denied by the crossbar.
BU’s offense was able to create shots throughout the night, as they outshot the Hawks 14-6. However, the Terriers did not manage a single shot on goal throughout the game, while Hartford recorded two.
The six shots that Hartford had in the match were also a testament to the Terrier defense, which has consistently been the strength of the team.
The cornerstone of the back line has been sophomore defender Kelvin Madzongwe, who showed his skill when he singlehandedly broke up a three-on-two late in the first half.
Madzongwe was named America East Defender of the Year for the season.
“Kelvin is a great player, there is no doubt about it,” Roberts said. “He is one of the better players in the country right now, so that is a good thing.”
Also starting on defense for the Terriers was senior defender Colin Henry, who was playing in his first game in over a month. Henry’s season was plagued with a nagging hamstring injury, and while he wasn’t able to play on Senior Night, he played his final game at Nickerson Field on Wednesday.
Also playing their last games for BU were senior forward Ben Berube, midfielder Stephen Knox, and defender Peter Mehlert. Knox and Berube started the game, while Mehlert came in as a sub for Henry in the 30th minute.
While the Terriers’ season is over, the team performed well for their age. BU started five freshmen in its only playoff game of the year, and started eight underclassmen in total.
“Obviously we knew we had a young team, but we thought we could win with this team right now,” Roberts said. “They were put into a lot of tough situations and they came up big most of the time.”
The Terriers have a lot to look forward to over the next few seasons with the youth of the team. For now though, this loss sits hard with coach Roberts.
“It is disappointing right now but I think under the circumstances everybody fought hard and became a better team in the end,” Roberts said. “We just didn’t have enough to get it done.”
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