Men’s Soccer: Terriers best UMass Lowell at home

By Cameron Meyer

Boston University (3-1) took on UMass Lowell (1-1-1) in front of 2,200 fans at Nickerson Field on Sunday. The Terriers got the best of the River Hawks, beating them 2-1 thanks to two early goals.

“Thanks to the university, the department, the athletic department, and every fan who came to support us today,” BU head coach Kevin Nylen said. “The band was phenomenal as always, you know that makes this place special.”

Behind the backing of their home crowd, the Terriers came out with attacking endeavor in the first half. 38 minutes into the game, BU notched the first tally of the game by way of sophomore Alex Bonnington. The transfer from Duke got on the end of a rapid move from the Terriers. Senior Eitan Rosen took down the ball off of a long feed from goalkeeper Francesco Montali and crossed the ball into the box. After a deflection off a River Hawk leg, Bonnington tapped in the ball on the back post, 

“I’m happy to get a hockey assist,” Montali said. “It’s part of playing short—having that thread in behind—so using that and getting a goal off of it is great. Hopefully, there’s more to come.”

Less than two minutes later, the Terriers doubled their lead thanks to an incredible miscue by the River Hawks. A lofted back pass towards the River Hawks’ goal settled into the back of the net for an own goal. 

The Terriers, overall, were much better than the visitors in the first half, as they outshot the River Hawks 9-5. 

The River Hawks were able to get back into the game in the second half by way of graduate student Matthias Stingl. In the 49th minute, Stingl got on the end of a corner kick and headed the ball past Montali. 

After their goal, the River Hawks dominated possession and edged out the Terriers in shots 5-3 in their effort to find an equalizer. However, the Terrier defense held strong and saw off the rest of the match, claiming their second straight win. 

“[It’s] great to win at home, great to continue to be good here in terms of results,” Nylen said. “But as [a coach] you always want more and I think while I don’t want to take away from our guys being three-and-one and getting another result, there’s room for improvement for sure.”

The Terriers will look to continue their winning streak on Wednesday away to Merrimack at 7 p.m.