Men’s Soccer: Terriers stretch their win streak against Loyola

By Adriana Leyba

Just a week after snapping a seven-game winless streak, Boston University men’s soccer (4-3-6) (2-1-3 PL) defeated reigning Patriot League champion Loyola Maryland (4-5-4) (2-2-2 PL) 1-0 on Saturday.

With the win, the Terriers achieved their second conference victory of the season in a difficult match against a team that hadn’t lost at home this season. The BU defense helped the Terriers maintain their advantage toward the final minutes.

“It is a team focus to have a good defense. That helped with today’s win,” BU Head Coach Kevin Nylen said. “They are a high scoring team with really good attacking players.”

The first half saw opportunities on offense from both sides. BU started off strong by maintaining possession and dictating the rhythm of the game. Senior Colin Innes was able to shoot from outside the box in the 11th minute and senior Quinn Matulis made several dangerous crosses throughout the first half.

“I think we had the better of opportunities in the first half,” Nylen said. “We found some really good chances and had some good chances, but just weren’t clean enough in that final third.”  

The Greyhounds struck at the beginning of the first half but ran into goalkeeper Francesco Montali, who made a critical save. Not long after that, the Terriers were awarded a penalty kick because of a handball in the 49th minute. Senior Quinn Matulis transformed it into a goal which allowed the Terriers to focus on defense for the rest of the game. 

Loyola held onto the ball for the majority of the remainder of the game, but the Greyhounds were unable to capitalize on their 12-7 shot advantage over the Terriers. Montali also collected four overall saves. 

The Terriers next play Northeastern away on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for their last non-conference game of the season.