Men’s Soccer: Terriers fall to Harvard 1-0
By Bailey Scott
Boston University Men’s Soccer (2-3-6, 0-1-3 PL) lost to Harvard (5-4-1) 1-0 on Tuesday, snapping their eight-game home unbeaten streak on a rainy evening at Nickerson Field.
In a highly defensive and physical game, the Terriers missed some key opportunities early, which allowed the Crimson to stay in the game and eventually score the only goal of the match.
BU started the game strong, recording two quality chances in the first 10 minutes. The first chance, which came from senior forward Quinn Matulis, came in the first two minutes of the game. The shot was struck well, but sailed high over the crossbar.
Seven minutes later, a shot by sophomore Brian Hernandez went just wide of the net. Both players would record another shot on goal before Harvard finally struck back.
The Terrier defense, which hadn’t allowed a single shot by Harvard in the game until the goal, finally let the Crimson slip past at the 25-minute mark. A quick series of passes in the box led to junior forward Ale Gutierrez receiving the ball in front of the goal. He then proceeded to blast the ball past BU goalie Francesco Montali to put Harvard up 1-0. Juniors Kaoru Fujiwara and James Fahmy were credited with the assists as Harvard took the lead.
“I can’t say it enough, goals change games,” BU Head Coach Kevin Nylen said. “If [Matulis] takes his chance, it’s 1-0 in the first six minutes, and if [Hernandez] takes his chance in the first 12 minutes it could be 2-0. Then [Harvard goes] down and now you’re down 1-0.”
From the start of the second half, Harvard dominated possession. However, the BU defense held strong. The Terriers had a chance early in the half when midfielder Andrew Rent recorded his first shot of the game. His attempt deflected for a corner kick, but John Roman’s subsequent header off the set play went too high.
Both teams squandered excellent chances in the second half. But due to shoddy finishing, including a open-goal miss by Harvard forward Martin Vician in the 88th minute, neither team could find the back of the net
Ultimately it was a battle of the defenses at Nickerson Field. Both teams did their best to shut each other out, but Harvard eventually came out on top. It was also a very physical game, with 34 fouls being recorded among both teams; Harvard with 24 and BU with 10.
“I just felt that tonight we didn’t do the simple things correctly,” Nylen said. “That’s not to say that we didn’t do anything correctly. But you know, if the space is there to play a little bit more direct than you have to and it’s just as simple as that.”
The Terriers will take on Bucknell next at Nickerson Field this Saturday at 2 p.m.