Prior to a road loss at Clemson last Friday night, Boston College men’s soccer was on a hot streak. The Eagles had gone 3–0–1 in the four games before the loss, tallying seven goals on the unbeaten run. But under the lights in Death Valley, the momentum appeared to have faded away.
The Eagles looked to regain their offensive prowess and this momentum in Tuesday evening’s road matchup with Yale, but the offensive woes only continued. BC’s offense struggled to generate any scoring chances, while the Bulldogs (3–2) converted on two of their scoring chances to defeat the Eagles (3–3–1, 0–1–1 Atlantic Coast) by a score of 2–0.
For practically the first time this season, the Eagles came out flat. They struggled to keep possession, as they attempted many difficult passes that led to turnovers.
Yale took advantage of the Eagles’ sloppy play with just under 10 minutes to go in the opening half. The Bulldogs’ leading scorer Paolo Carroll received a pass from the left wing and found himself all alone with the ball at the top of the six-yard box. He slotted it right past BC goaltender Christian Garner for the goal of the night. The Eagles’ defense left Garner with no chance to make the save.
Even though the Eagles did not score in their loss to Clemson, they generated seven first-half shots. Against Yale, however, the Eagles were unable to muster anything offensively. Top goalscorers Stefan Sigurdarson and Michael Suski barely touched the ball, and BC finished the half without one shot, an anomaly for a BC team that averages 17.3 shots per game.
Yale did not generate many offensive chances either, but the Bulldogs capitalized on their only shot on goal to go into the break on top.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Jorge Dickens took a shot wide to finally give BC its first shot of the game. Even though the Eagles had more rhythm and composure in the second half, they still struggled to generate any offense.
With under 10 minutes to go into the game, BC defender Victor Souza attempted a dangerous pass across the middle of the field. Carroll intercepted the pass and found himself on a breakaway. Rather than taking the shot himself, he passed it off to Kahveh Zahiroleslam, who put a dagger into the back of an empty net.
With their backs against the wall, the Eagles generated more offense in the final three minutes of this game than they had in the first 87 minutes. Suski earned the Eagles a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box.
Kristofer Konradsson’s ensuing shot forced Bulldogs’ goalie Elian Haddock into a tough save, marking the Eagles’ first shot on goal. Following the set-piece opportunity, the Eagles fired shot after shot on Haddock but couldn’t break him. Sigurdarson hit the crossbar and the post once each, symbolic of the Eagles’ struggles on their road trip to New Haven.
Featured Image by Steve Mooney / Heights Staff
