Men’s Soccer: Terriers to Host Holy Cross in Regular-Season Finale
Featured Image by Marianne Zemmes
By Kaan Oguz
Boston University Men’s Soccer (8-7-0, 4-4-0 PL) will close out its regular season against the Holy Cross Crusaders (4-7-6, 1-4-3 PL) at Nickerson Field on Tuesday. As part of the annual Turnpike Trophy series, the game marks the Terriers’ final chance to turn around momentum ahead of the Patriot League Tournament after a challenging stretch of four consecutive losses.
The Terriers, currently sitting in the No. 6 spot at 12 points, are looking to rebound after back-to-back 2-0 defeats against Lehigh University and Lafayette College. Despite the recent downfall, BU has already clinched a spot in the Patriot League playoffs and could climb to the No. 5 seat, depending on other results.
On the other side of the turf, Holy Cross enters the contest in ninth place with six points. With no chance to compete in the playoffs, the Crusaders look to end its season on a positive note after a 1-2 loss to American University on Friday.
Sophomore midfielder Pharis Petrica has once again been a focal point of BU’s attack, ranking third in the Patriot League with 10 total goal contributions — three goals and seven assists.
Senior midfielder Ethan Gill continues to lead the Terriers with five goals, while junior forward Lapo Romieri follows closely with five goal contributions — two goals and four assists. All three attackers will look to revive the BU offense that has gone scoreless in its last two matches and only averaged 1.92 goals per game this season.
Anchoring the backline is senior Quin DeLaMater. Across 12 starts, the reigning Patriot League Defender of the Year has logged 909 minutes, continuing to provide leadership and consistency on defense in addition to his four goal contributions.
In net, senior goalkeeper Ben Alexander has shared time this year with senior Sheraz Saadat and junior William Clavier. In seven starts, Alexander holds a 1.57 goals-against average and a 0.667 save percentage, while Clavier and Saadat have combined for a 0.729 save rate. BU’s goalkeeping unit has produced three clean sheets overall and will be key in containing Holy Cross’ attack.
For the Crusaders, forward Archie Hatcher leads the team and ranks second in the Patriot League with eight goal contributions — six goals and two assists. Supporting him is midfielder Thomas Mancuso, who has three goals and three assists, and junior midfielder Kevin Cull, who has registered six goal contributions.
In goal, Mateo Buyu has started 11 of 17 games, posting a 1.22 goals-against average, a 0.690 save percentage and two clean sheets on the season.
BU leads the all-time series against Holy Cross 15-5-2, including a 1-1 draw last season in Worcester on Nov. 5, 2024. The last five meetings were equally distributed with each team getting two wins. The Terriers won the last two meetings in their home and look to extend this streak to break their recent record at four straight losses.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Nickerson Field, with streaming available on ESPN+.