Men’s Soccer: Terriers draw 1-1 at Harvard, extend unbeaten run to seven

By Sam Robb O’Hagan

Boston University men’s soccer (7-2-3, 4-0-1 PL) drew 1-1 at Harvard (2-3-6, 1-0-2) Tuesday to extend their unbeaten run to seven games, their longest since 2014. 

Sophomore forward Alex Bonnington finished a sudden and ruthless move to give BU the lead within the first ten minutes. A transfer from Duke this summer, he has three goals in 11 games this season, which is third-best on the team. Tuesday was Bonnington’s second start in three days and his sixth start of the year.

“I’m trying to do everything I can to get into that starting eleven,” Bonnington said. “It paid off today, I took my chance.”

Junior Harvard forward Alessandro Arlotti, the Crimson’s leader in points, found the top corner on a free kick in the 21st minute to equalize, defeating an outstretched hand from senior Terrier goalkeeper Francesco Montali.

It was symptomatic of a consistent struggle for BU’s defense in possession, who made errant passes out of the back all night and looked uncomfortable under pressure. Senior defender Griffin Roach’s heavy touch left him no choice but to concede the free kick that Arlotti would eventually score.

It was a sudden weakness for one of the Patriot League’s most experienced defenses, and a rare mistake from Roach, the reigning conference defender of the year.

BU Head Coach Kevin Nylen proposed his players could’ve been overthinking on the road and on an unfamiliar playing surface, suggesting they were “emotionally too involved,” but conceded it as a problem his team must fix.

“At the end of the day, that’s on us,” Nylen said. “Now we got to look at that.”

Nylen will be relieved at the timing of his defense’s instability. Five games into their rising Patriot League regular season championship bid, BU today played their first non-conference game since September 19. The draw at Jordan Field was the second of three midweek matches with local Boston rivals, a series that concludes next Tuesday at Northeastern.

Nylen acknowledged that his staff did, in fact, go into the non-conference matchup with objectives beyond winning.

“Every time we go on the field we want to win, but we need to develop, we need to see guys in certain roles that didn’t play as much in the previous game,” Nylen said. “There’s always a plan going into [non-conference games].”

Only two starters played over 70 minutes in a game that featured nine BU substitutes, and Nylen confirmed that sophomore midfielder Diego Rived, who played 154 of the last 180 minutes coming in, was limited to 45 minutes no matter the state of affairs.

“[Nobody] went beyond 60 minutes that played heavier minutes on the weekend,” Nylen said. “That’s by design.”

Bonnington insisted, despite the constant substitutions and the lack of conference points on the line, that he and his teammates treated the game like any other.

“An Ivy League team is no different to a Patriot League team in our eyes,” Bonnington said. “We just want to go out there and win the game.”

Nylen, although he was coaching on multiple fronts, said he was impressed with his team’s overall play.

“A lot of rotations tonight, but I never thought that our level dropped,” Nylen said. “So I was proud of the effort.”

Freshman midfielder Jason Zacarius profited from BU’s heavy squad rotation, starting his third game of the season and recording his first career goal contribution. His press-breaking pass set up senior midfielder Colin Innes’ precise through ball to Bonnington for the team’s only goal.

“I was finding good pockets today,” Zacarius said. “That’s my role, to make good plays going forward.”

Operating in a traditional ‘10’ role behind BU’s two strikers, Zacarius was a critical presence—receiving the ball constantly and being asked to retain and advance the attack under pressure. Nylen and his staff trusted him to hold the position for 68 straight minutes to open the game.

“Playing with the confidence that [the coaches] give me helps me express myself on the field,” Zacarius said. “It means everything.”

Zacarius, then, could represent a victory for Nylen in a game without meaning in the standings and without a win in the box score.

The freshman has seen his usage—in a crucial attacking role—steadily increase over BU’s 4-0-1 start to Patriot League play. On Tuesday, Zacarius started for the first time since September 3, played the most minutes of his collegiate career, and recorded his first point. 

His emergence makes him yet another option going forward as the Terriers return to their conference slate atop the standings 1 p.m. on Saturday at Lafayette, looking to continue their championship challenge.

“There’s certain things, specifically on short turnarounds, that we don’t [normally] get to see,” Nylen said. “That’s why playing these games is super important.”