The No. 24 Boston University men’s soccer team was able to overcome a series of missed chances, and an untimely lapse in luck, to salvage a 1-1 season-opening tie at in-state foe University of Massachusetts-Amherst on Tuesday.
The Terriers controlled the pace for large portions of the game, stringing together passes to mount repeated threats on the UMass goal. But an inability to finish plays stunted BU’s production.
‘We created enough chances to win the game,’ BU coach Neil Roberts said. ‘But the difficult part is finishing them and our chances were often blocked or missed the target.’
BU narrowly led UMass in shots on goal, 11-10, heading into halftime, when UMass grabbed the lead on an unorthodox play in the 42nd minute.
A long throw-in became a broken play, as the ball haphazardly bounced around the box. UMass defenseman Sam DeNormandie took advantage of BU’s failure to clear and headed the ball into the net for the first goal of the game.
After a half of well-constructed attacks, the ball had finally squirted through on a play that lacked structure completely.
‘You hate to see a goal score like that,’ Roberts said. ‘It’s just a ball bouncing around, and we should have handled it better in the box.’
BU struck back in the 65th minute when a well-placed pass by junior forward Aaron O’Neal ended up on senior Shaun Taylor’s foot in prime position to score.
‘It was good that we could go on the road, get behind, but still come back,’ Roberts said. ‘It’s a tough place to play up here. They don’t give up a lot defensively.’
BU’s defense shut UMass down the rest of the way, and good ball control tilted the fourth quarter shot ratio to 6-to-1.
‘The backs did a good job,’ Roberts said. ‘And when the midfield performs well, it allows better possession of the ball and the ability to control the game.’
Despite a second-half increase in pressure, BU’s bottom line wasn’t any better than UMass’, and the game went into overtime.
After a dormant first overtime, BU made a final plea for the win in overtime two, forcing a series of shots followed by rebounds on goal. But UMass junior goalkeeper Chris Piekos had other plans for his team, looking to preserve a big tie against a BU team ranked No. 24 by College Soccer News.
Piekos put on a calisthenics clinic, blocking three consecutive shots on a dive to the ground, a block in the air and a kick save, all in the 104th minute.
‘We’ve got to go back and see what we did well,’ Roberts said. ‘We have a game coming up next against a very strong [University of Connecticut].’
The Minutemen are defending Atlantic 10 Conference champions, a test in their own right. But UConn is ranked No. 20 in the College Soccer News poll and hails from the more powerful Big East. The Big East boasts five top-30 teams, as opposed to the Atlantic Ten’s zero and the America East Conference’s one, BU.
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