Determined to continue fighting this season, the Boston University men’s soccer team made quick work of the University at Albany in a lopsided 2–0 victory.
Coming into the game it seemed this would be a one-sided match. Albany (5–10–0, 2–3–0 America East) was struggling both offensively and defensively and was last in America East in shots, goals and goals against average.
The Terriers (5–7–4, 2–1–2 America East) came out of the gate strong, and in the 13th minute, junior midfielder Anthony Ciccone charged into the Albany defensive zone and launched a cross. The cross found the head of sophomore midfielder Parker Powell who put the ball past Albany goalie Tim Allen.
Ciccone, aside from getting the assist on the first goal, continued to beat defenders and control the game on offense. Additionally, the goal was the team-leading fifth goal for Powell.
After squandering their first chance in the 12th minute when a Brandon Wilson header was saved by BU sophomore goalkeeper Nick Thomson, the Great Danes looked to attack again but were swallowed by the strong BU defense. BU held its opponents to just three shots.
“The success on defense comes from us staying compact and holding on to the ball,” said BU coach Neil Roberts. “In the UMBC game we got stretched, we gave the ball away, we played long ball — when that happens teams kill us. When we keep the ball and stay tight, even if we lose it on a pass we are still right there to defend it.”
At the end of the half, BU had the advantage in shots 7–2 as well as a 1–0 lead. The lead could have been larger if it had not been for a few missed opportunities and four saves from Allen.
In the second half, the Terriers continued attacking the Albany defense. In the 47th minute, after a few missed shots and a save by Allen, Powell received a rebound and was poised to score. The bouncing shot beat Allen, but was just a bit too far to the left and hit the post. BU was only inches from a commanding 2–0 lead.
Albany took the ball down the field in transition and looked to get on the board. Albany defender Christoffer Nisser launched a shot at the BU goal, but Thomson made his second and final save of the game to keep the score at 1–0. BU, through ball possession and crisp passing, took over the game while the fatigue in the Albany players became evident.
“You don’t understand how tired teams get,” Roberts said. “When they got the ball, they would give it right back to us. They are probably used to playing teams that would give it back to them. I don’t know how many teams they play that actually keep the ball. That’s when you punish a team, when they get tired. That’s the whole idea behind defense.”
Additionally, the exhaustion causes teams to start playing inattentively and begin committing fouls, Roberts said.
“When you chase the game like [the Great Danes] do, like Harvard did, like Hartford did, you get tired, and that’s when the fouls come in,” Roberts said.
Sophomore forward Dominique Badji continued to dominate in the box and look for headers. In the 54th and 55th minutes Badji had opportunities for headers but missed on both over the net. Badji ended the game with six shots, two shots on goal and zero goals.
In the 71st minute BU was controlling the pace of game and held the ball in the Albany zone for a while before sophomore Mac McGuire received a short pass and scored the second BU goal of the day. Freshman forward Carlos Ruiz and sophomore midfielder Cameron Souri were credited with assists on the goal.
The score remained 2–0 as Albany was noticeably outplayed for a majority of the game.
The Terriers will play their last home game of the year Wednesday night against Binghamton University before they conclude their season at the University of New Hampshire on Saturday.
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