Men’s Soccer: Terriers find late winner to beat Bucknell away

By Eli Cloutier

Boston University men’s soccer team (8-3-4, 5-1-1 PL) traveled to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Saturday afternoon to take on the Bucknell Bison (1-10-3, 0-6-1 PL). The Terriers were victorious 1-0 after finding a late winner courtesy of senior midfielder Eitan Rosen in a back-and-forth game.

BU pressed on the front foot early but were unable to penetrate the Bison backline. Their best chance of the half came off a free kick from graduate midfielder Quinn Matulis, whose ball found the head of sophomore back Quin DeLaMater in the box. But, Bison junior goalkeeper Jake Nicoll made an easy save of DeLaMater’s effort.

Both ends stood strong defensively in what was a physical first half. Each team had two shots, with one on goal, but neither could find the back of the net.

“I thought the first half was a little more rigid,” Terrier Head Coach Kevin Nylen said postgame. “[Bucknell] did a really good job in squeezing any lateral or backward pass.”

After struggling to possess the ball upfield in the first half, BU’s buildup was more steady after the break.

“I felt the second half was a very controlled half by us on the road,” Nylen said.

The chances for both sides opened up as the game progressed, with the Terriers edging the Bison 5-3 in shots during the final 45 minutes.

BU stepped on the gas in the final 10 minutes, actively searching for the winning goal.

It came in the form of Rosen’s seventh goal of the season. Freshman midfielder Jason Zacarias found Rosen in the box, whose shot from the left side of the box beat Nicoll, ending up in the bottom corner of the net to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead in the 87th minute.

“For us to find a late goal is a really good way to cap off a road trip in a hard-fought three points here,” Nylen said.

Heading into the final two games of the regular season, Nylen wants his team to enjoy this win and clean sheet, but once the team gets back to Boston, the focus shifts to their next opponent, Loyola University.

“We have two games left, but there’s nothing more important than your next one,” Nylen said. “We have a really big test next weekend and now we have to regroup and have a good week of training.”

The Terriers host their final regular season game at Nickerson Field next Saturday against the Greyhounds at 1 p.m.