Men’s Soccer: Another late-game goal dooms BU against Holy Cross

By Kate Lis

Déjà vu seems to follow Boston University’s men’s soccer team, as they allowed another last-minute goal to give Holy Cross a 2-1 win on a windy Thursday night.

Both Boston University and Holy Cross came into the contest tied for second place in the North Division of the Patriot League. With new rules for the 2020-21 season, the Patriot League playoffs will consist of the top two teams of each division qualifying for the playoffs. With the win today, Holy Cross is now three points ahead of BU in the standings. While the loss damaged the Terriers’ potential playoff spot, given COVID-related postponements and teams playing an uneven number of games, it is unclear where BU could stand at season’s end.

BU started off slow in the first half with freshman goalkeeper Andrew Wike making some important saves to keep the scoresheet clean. Despite his stellar start, Wike was unable to control the ball from a corner kick delivered by Holy Cross’ Max Krause, giving the Crusaders their first goal in the 37th minute. Quick to respond, Ronaldo Marshall received a long ball from Ryan Lee only to head it off for Andrew Rent to dribble into the box and score just 12 seconds after Holy Cross’ first goal.

In the 73rd minute, BU had an opportunity to take the lead as freshman Eitan Rosen drew a foul inside of the box. Holy Cross goalkeeper Nick Conklu was able to prevent the Terriers from capitalizing on the opportunity when he made a diving save against Ronaldo Marshall, who took the penalty kick.

The second half continued with both teams missing opportunities as the gusting 14 mph winds wreaked major havoc on the ball. It seemed as if the game was going to end in a tie with only 18 seconds left in the game until BU gave up the ball in the lower third of the field. Holy Cross took advantage to score the game-winning goal and improve their potential playoff spot.

“Tough result for the guys.” Said coach Kevin Nylen following the game. “In the second half, we had space and time to play, it just didn’t go [our way].”

The Terriers will take on Army at Nickerson Field next Saturday at 4 pm.