{"id":38786,"date":"2023-10-14T17:57:59","date_gmt":"2023-10-14T21:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=38786"},"modified":"2023-10-14T17:57:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-14T21:57:59","slug":"mens-soccer-bu-flat-at-lafayette-handed-first-patriot-league-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2023\/10\/14\/mens-soccer-bu-flat-at-lafayette-handed-first-patriot-league-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Men\u2019s Soccer: BU flat at Lafayette, handed first Patriot League loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sam Robb O\u2019Hagan<\/span><\/p>\n

The image was of senior defender Griffin Roach throwing his hands above his head and of graduate student midfielder Colin Innes tugging at his shorts, screaming up at the sky.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it was of Boston University men\u2019s soccer (7-3-3, 4-1-1 PL)\u20142-0 losers on Saturday at Lafayette (7-4-3, 4-1-1 PL) in their first Patriot League loss of the season\u2014a team that looked like they just wanted to go home.<\/span><\/p>\n

After conceding two goals over five unbeaten games to start Patriot League play, BU conceded twice in the first 40 minutes against the Leopards. The result leaves the top of the conference in a three-way tie; with BU, Lafayette, and Loyola-Maryland joint on 13 points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Including non-conference play, it was the Terriers\u2019 first loss in eight games.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSports are always humbling,\u201d BU Head Coach Kevin Nylen said. \u201cAnytime you play the game, it can be humbling, and today, maybe it\u2019s a little more humbling because it\u2019s our first loss in conference.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

BU conceded two set-piece goals in five minutes near the end of the first half, inexplicably allowing a second-chance header from a long throw-in before leaving senior forward Hale Lombard\u2014the Patriot League\u2019s leading scorer\u2014open for a free header from a wide free kick.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both were defensive mishaps from one of the conference\u2019s most experienced defenses, a unit whose 0.92 goals allowed per game coming in was second-lowest in the Patriot League.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t defend the second ball on the throw and we didn\u2019t defend the runners on the free kick,\u201d Nylen said. \u201cVery, very simple.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Four minutes into the second half, senior goalkeeper Francesco Montali whiffed an attempt to punch a wide free kick clear, exposing his goal before senior forward Eitan Rosen cleared a shot off the line.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nylen said the two goals were not part of a larger deficiency in defending set pieces within his squad. He did not address Rosen\u2019s clearance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not much aside from [the two goals] when it comes to set pieces,\u201d Nylen said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t defend those two and now you get paid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lafayette took nine shots throughout the game, putting six of them on goal, but none truly challenged Montali beyond the Leopards\u2019 three best chances.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the second half, BU did not assume the look of the Patriot League\u2019s second-highest scoring in need of two goals, but rather that of an attack lost for ideas. The Terriers took six shots in the second period, but all were taken from outside of the box and placed harmlessly wide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BU put one shot on goal throughout the 90 minutes: an errant cross from Innes in the 77th minute.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can control parts of the game in possession, you can not, you can send balls in that go out of bounds, you can take shots that aren\u2019t on target,\u201d Nylen said. \u201cThat\u2019s part of the game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Terriers\u2019 offense was disconnected throughout. When they tried to play out from the back, they failed to progress the ball. When their midfielders found the ball in the center of the field, they couldn\u2019t retain possession against a suffocating Lafayette defense.<\/span><\/p>\n

The result was a frustrating reel of long balls\u2014about the only way BU managed to move possession into the attacking third.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Lafayette] did a good job early on of being direct and putting pressure on us,\u201d Nylen said. \u201cThey can limit how you play by how they play.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But, like with his defense, Nylen insisted his offense\u2019s struggles on Saturday are not part of a larger, developing problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo need to worry about it, it\u2019s our first loss in [eight] games,\u201d Nylen said. \u201cThat\u2019s part of soccer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rain fell throughout the entire 90 minutes, saturating Lafayette\u2019s grass field with water. BU plays at Nickerson Field, an artificial turf, and has not played a home conference game in the rain yet this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs it more comfortable for [Lafayette], probably, it\u2019s our first time on grass,\u201d Nylen said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the reason we lost the game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Innes has previously said he knows Nickerson Field \u201clike the back of his hand,\u201d and Rosen has said that playing at home \u201c[is] something we really value.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Terriers are undefeated (5-0-1) at home this season, but are 2-2-2 on the road.<\/span><\/p>\n

BU will next take on Northeastern in a non-conference matchup at home on Tuesday, looking to rebound from a loss in which the friendliest sight of the day was the bus back to Boston.<\/span><\/p>\n

BU\u2019s next Patriot League game is on the road next Saturday at 1 p.m. against Bucknell.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not walking away saying that we were poor,\u201d Nylen said. \u201cWe\u2019re walking away saying \u2018okay, we got to prepare for what\u2019s ahead.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sam Robb O\u2019Hagan The image was of senior defender Griffin Roach throwing his hands above his head and of graduate student midfielder Colin Innes tugging at his shorts, screaming up at the sky. And it was of Boston University men\u2019s soccer (7-3-3, 4-1-1 PL)\u20142-0 losers on Saturday at Lafayette (7-4-3, 4-1-1 PL) in their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21477,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1026,1030,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38786"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21477"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38787,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38786\/revisions\/38787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}