ALLSTON, Mass. – Despite sophomore
Austin D'Anna recording his first goal of the season for a first-half lead, the Boston University men's soccer team suffered a heart-breaking 2-1 overtime loss at rival Harvard on Wednesday night.
Harvard (2-5-0) netted the equalizer in the 79th minute and was the beneficiary of a fortuitous bounce off the post for the 93rd-minute golden goal, as the Terriers fell to 1-4-2.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Junior Satchel Cortet forced a Harvard turnover in the midfield and drove the ball through the backline before rifling a shot inside the box saved by keeper Matt Freese.
- D'Anna collected the rebound the quickly struck the ball for the 1-0 advantage at 35:38.
- The Terriers held the lead and a 6-5 advantage in shots despite Harvard leading in corner kicks, 3-0.
- Both goalkeepers made an early save in the second half with Bernardi coming up big in the 68th minute on a kick save to maintain the lead.
- Harvard though eventually got on the board by winning a ball in the midfield and putting away a low cross during the counter at 78:21 with Cesar Farias collecting his second goal of the season.
- The Crimson remained on the attack and attempted three shots in the final five minutes of regulation before earning a fourth corner kick just seconds before the buzzer.
- The Terriers managed to get the stops and clears to send the game to OT but could not prevent Taner Dogan from getting off a shot at 92:06 following another counter attack.
GAME NOTES
- D'Anna became the third Terrier to score a goal this season and the seventh to record a point.
- Cortet claimed his second assist of the season as well.
- BU fell to 0-1-2 in OT games this season following draws at Boston College (3-3) and Dartmouth (2-2), while Harvard is now 1-1-0 following its season-opening 3-2 loss at Albany.
- Bernardi ended the contest with three saves, while Freese had four.
- Sophomore George Abunaw and freshman Nate Cole both made their first career starts as Terriers.
- Harvard edged BU in shots, 12-9, while posting a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.
- The Crimson improved to 26-16-8 in the all-time series dating back to 1951 and is now riding a three-game unbeaten streak at home with the last loss occurring in 2011.
NEXT UP: AMERICAN
- BU will open conference play by returning home Saturday to host American at 1 p.m.
- As part of Youth Day festivities, admission is free for kids eighth grade and below. Registration can be found at GoTerriers.com/MSOCYouth.
- The Terriers were selected to finish second in the Patriot League preseason poll, while the Eagles were picked eighth.
- BU won last year's meeting, 2-0, with an early goal in each half.