BU Looks to Turn Things Around, Hosts Harvard on Thursday

By: Alex Greenberg

BOSTON — The Harvard Crimson will make the short trip across the Charles River to take on the Boston University men’s soccer team at Nickerson Field on Thursday night.

BU has done well in this cross-river rivalry as of late, going 4-3-3 in the last 10 meetings between these two schools. The last time they faced each other, things got physical, with the two teams combined for 36 fouls in a scoreless draw on September 25, 2013.

The Terriers will try to return to their winning ways, after they fell 2-1 at Princeton on September 19th. Junior Mark Wadid continued to play well for BU, scoring his first goal of the season and tying the game at one. The visiting Terriers were cruelly unraveled when Princeton’s Josh Miller flicked an 87th minute corner kick into the net for the winning goal.

Harvard comes into the match looking to turn their early-season struggles around. The Crimson have only won one game this year, a 2-1 victory at Stony Brook on September 13th, but there are signs that brighter days are ahead. The Crimson just returned from a west coast road-trip that saw them lose 2-0 at Seattle, and draw 0-0 at Washington. Conceding two goals to an unranked Seattle team was a poor result, but coach Pieter Lehrer would have been pleased that the Crimson managed to take a point from a Washington team that was ranked ninth in the country at the time.

If the Terriers are to collect their fourth win of the season they will need more from their dynamic attackers. Sophomore Anthony Viteri scored twice at UMass Amherst, but was held in check during the loss to Princeton while the team only registered three shots on target during the defeat. Junior Felix De Bona, who is never afraid to take a shot, was also stifled and held to only one shot.

Harvard, who have conceded eight goals in six games, have struggled defensively. If BU can get the ball to their playmakers in the right areas, while staying organized on the backline, then they should emerge victorious in this Battle of Allston.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Nickerson Field.