Men’s Soccer: Terriers dominate Holy Cross at home

By Cameron Meyer

Boston University (6-2-1) (3-0 PL) faced their in-state rival Holy Cross (3-5-2) (1-1-1 PL) Wednesday night in an undefeated Patriot League bout. The Terriers got the better of the Crusaders, winning the game 3-0 in convincing fashion, extending their home unbeaten streak to four in the process. 

“Protect home field—that’s something we always say,” senior midfielder Colin Innes said in a postgame interview. “This is home and we’re not going to let someone come in here and take any points.”

The Terriers’ dominance began at kickoff, as they were able to control and overwhelm their opposition with their press and direct play. While controlling possession, they were able to find their attackers, mainly forward Andrew Rent, on the wings with the Crusaders reeling. It only took 10 minutes into the game for that vertical play to bear fruit.

Innes picked up the ball in midfield with tons of space in front of him, but looked up to find midfielder Quinn Matulis making a streaking run in behind the Crusader backline. He then played an inch-perfect ball to the graduate student who, with one touch, played the ball laterally to senior forward Eitan Rosen near the penalty spot. Rosen made no mistake with his shot, nutmegging the goalkeeper before the ball nestled in the back of the net.

The goal was Rosen’s fourth of the season and his third in the past two games.

“I think everyone’s playing really well and I’m just a product of that,” Rosen said. “Look at the goals I’ve scored, it’s other guys creating that. I would love to say it’s [because of] me, but I think we’re just clicking.”

As soon as the first goal went in, it seemed like the Terriers smelt blood in the water. They penetrated the Holy Cross backline consistently early in the half and they scored their second goal only five minutes after their first.

Matulis played a corner kick short to Innes, who beat his man to the endline with a nifty bit of skill. Innes crossed the ball into the mixer and found the 6-foot-4 sophomore John Roman, who headed the ball inside the top left corner of the frame. In a blink, the Terriers found themselves up by two largely thanks to some stellar play by a trio of seniors: Innes, Rosen, and Matulis. 

“I think they are three experienced players—three guys who have been with us now for at least three years—and you continue to see their growth,” BU Head Coach Kevin Nylen said. “[I’m] really pleased with them individually.”

After BU’s second goal it, again, only took five minutes for them to score another. This time it came from the puppeteer of the first two goals: Innes. He picked up the ball on the left wing and drove towards goal. Just outside of the box, Innes decided to take a rip on goal. A Crusader defender got a leg to the strike, but thanks to a fortuitous bounce, the ball ricocheted past the diving hands of goalkeeper Tristian Stephani.

The first 20 minutes of the game was action-packed as the Terriers relentlessly attacked Holy Cross’ backline and outshot their opposition 4-1. The rest of the match, however, was largely a dross affair. BU, with a three goal advantage, we’re fine to pass the ball around their backline, daring one of Holy Cross’ attackers to press. 

But the Crusaders hardly lived up to their name, as they were slow to react and took very little risks going forward. Their best chance in the remaining 70 minutes came late in the first half from midfielder Jack Ostrosky, who put his shot far wide of the post. As a result, BU’s goalkeeper Francesco Montali had little to do all game, not registering a single save in the 90 minutes. 

“I think our team has been really good throughout the year, maybe at times, [some games] better than others,” Nylen said. “I thought we took care of business tonight.”

The comfortable state of the game afforded Nylen to rest many of his starters for a significant chunk of the second half. With a packed Patriot League schedule, fresh legs are crucial.

“This is the time of year where now you’ve got to make a decision and we have a lot of depth,” Nylen said. 

The Terriers will look to extend their home unbeaten streak this Saturday at 1 p.m. when Colgate comes to Nickerson Field.