Men’s Soccer: Terriers Fall Short to Northeastern in Back-to-Back Late Game Scorings

Featured Image by Jenny Chen

By Jane Guay 

Boston University Men’s Soccer Team (8-4, 4-1) suffered a tough loss at home against the Northeastern University Huskies (3-6-3, 1-4-1 PL) Tuesday night after Huskies’ forward Bryce Flowers scored a late, 89th-minute goal. 

Coming off of a four-win streak, the Terriers were looking for another tally to add to the win column, though they fell short after what seemed like a strong momentum from the team. 

Although the first 20 minutes of the first half were scoreless, much of it was spent in Northeastern territory, resulting in BU midfielder Jack Grossman scoring the first goal of the game — his first goal of the season. 

“I don’t think he hits it quite complete but still finds the back of the net,” said Head Coach Kevin Nylen of Grossman. “Good for him to find his first goal. Unfortunately, it’s kind of overshadowed by the loss.”

The goal came from a free kick after Huskies’ defender Rohin Kapila committed a foul. In the first half, fouling was a consistent issue the Huskies faced, committing nine fouls in comparison to the Terriers’ five. 

With a struggling offense in the first half — only recording one shot in comparison to the Terriers’ nine — the Huskies needed to rely on their defense. Northeastern goalkeeper Tobias Jahn made two saves, while BU senior Sheraz Saadat stopped one — though much of the action stayed away from Terrier territory.

By the end of the first half, the Huskies used the Terriers’ late fouls to their advantage, recording five free kicks in the later portion of the first. This momentum continued, leading Northeastern to its first goal of the night — scored just under four minutes to go before halftime. 

Although the Huskies ramped up their offensive strategy heading into halftime, the Terriers quickly shut it down. Senior defender John Roman, assisted by sophomore midfielder Pharis Petrica and senior midfielder Diego Rived, found the back of the net, marking the second goal of his BU career. 

Despite the Terriers’ early goal in the second half, the Huskies were able to up their shot count, recording five — four more than in the first half. BU still doubled Northeastern’s shot total with 10, but foul trouble and costly mistakes shifted the momentum. 

Infractions by Rived, junior forward Keke Abai, freshman defender Austin Mobray, senior midfielder Ethan Gill, senior defender Giuseppe Bagnato and sophomore forward Dylan Williams all contributed to the Terriers’ second-half struggles. 

Along with fouling, a mid-second-half injury to Mobray, who started the game, slowed the Terriers’ momentum that was created in the first half. 

As BU’s offense stalled, Northeastern capitalized. Midfielder Neil Devnani and Bryce Flowers scored back-to-back goals — Flowers’ coming with just 49 seconds left — to seal a 3-2 win for the Huskies. 

Looking ahead, Nylen said the Terriers will shift their focus to conference play and prepare for Sunday’s game against American University. The team’s mentality is “we regroup, and we move on,” he said. 

“This isn’t the end of the world,” Nylen said. “We’re eight-and-four and still in a good spot in conference play, and that’s what we have to play for.” 

The Terriers will travel to Washington, D.C. for Sunday’s game against the American Eagles, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.