Men’s Soccer: Terriers fall on the road to Lehigh

By Ryan Abazari

Boston University Men’s Soccer (1-3-6, 1-1-1 PL) suffered their first loss in Patriots League play in a 3-1 loss against Lehigh (3-6-1, 2-1 PL) on Saturday evening at Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem.

In a very clinical game, both teams would enter the game looking to right the wrongs of their previous results, with BU coming off a home draw to rivals Boston College and Lehigh losing on the road to Seton Hall. The Terriers showed that they came to play early in the game with junior defender Quin DeLaMater clanging a 4th-minute free kick off the right-hand post and despite a scramble for the ball, Lehigh was able to clear, removing the danger.

In the 34th minute, junior defender Ryan Lau would find some room from about 20 yards out and let rip a curling effort from the left-hand side of the field, but he, unfortunately, faced the same result as DeLaMater did earlier with his shot also crashing off the right post. Despite being only mere inches away from finding the opener, the Terriers didn’t waver in their efforts and continued to push forward.

After winning their second corner of the night in the 40th minute, the Terriers would swing in a ball that would get cleared up the field to Lehigh freshman, Aiden Gonzalez, who when tasked with a one-on-one with the Terrier back line, was able to open his body up and place a curling effort that beat the outstretched fingertips of the diving junior goalkeeper Sheraz Saadat.

Despite BU looking like the aggressors early on with multiple shots hitting the woodwork, the counter-attack goal from Lehigh would be the only one of the half, giving the home side the lead going into the break.

On a day when rain would be an issue, the game ran as smoothly as the conditions allowed. Both sides would have clear-cut chances on goal, but with the ball slipping and sliding around, it seemed as if a few key moments would be the difference between the two sides. Speaking on his team, BU head coach Kevin Nylen put it best simply by saying, “We have to grow in those situations,” and would speak on how the weather would not be an excuse.

To open the second half, the Terriers looked ready to defend their Patriots League title, and after forcing an early save from Lehigh senior goalkeeper, Blake Koski, they kept knocking on the door until super-sub sophomore Keke Abai was able to slot one past the senior to equalize in the 56th minute. This was Abai’s first career goal, and not disheartened by the shot off the post, DeLaMater would get the assist.

The Terriers would push for the winner after that, but only 10 minutes after equalizing, that task was once again thrown in disarray when in the 66th minute, after failing to clear a Lehigh chance, the home team would send a cross in that would find the head of junior Sam Davis who sent the ball across his body past the flat-footed Saadat to give Lehigh back the lead.

Still reeling from the header to make it 2-1, the Terriers once again found themselves with the ball in their own half, and when trying to play it out, the rain may have played a role in causing an errant pass that Lehigh senior Perry Kingson was able to pounce on. Kingson then played the ball into a box-bound Gonzalez who was able to pick up his second of the night and effectively stifle any chance of a BU comeback victory.

Some more set pieces would ensue with BU getting chances off of 2 more corners, but no chance was bigger than an 83rd-minute play that saw the Terriers quickly go from defense to attack and which ended in a near-perfect shot from a tight angle for sophomore Andrea Di Blasio that crashed off the right-hand corner. A first-time shot from that angle should have had no chance of being on target, but Di Blasio was not far off cutting the Lehigh lead back to 1.

With little time to play and a home team that was set on seeing the result out, the Terriers would not be able to find many more chances, and the final whistle was blown seeing the Terriers succumb to their first league loss, 3-1.

BU will try to rectify this loss with a home game against fellow Patriot League opponent, Lafayette, at 4 p.m. on Nickerson Field.