Two goals in the final eleven minutes of the first round of the 2023 ACC Championship put Boston College men’s soccer in a unique position. For the first time all game, they were within reach of then-No.8 ranked Duke.
Despite an impressive comeback, however, the game ended with a loss—a fitting end to a season during which the Eagles won just three games. They ended the season 3–9–5, and went their last seven games without tasting a win.
After showing little hesitation in the swift firing of Jason Lowe on the women’s side after last season’s struggles, Blake James chose to stay with Bob Thompson and Co. despite BC men’s .324 win percentage—the program’s worst since 1996.
Last season came and went without the Eagles winning a single conference game, and they are ranked dead last in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll headed into the 2024 season.
The Roster
Of the 31 players on BC’s roster, 21 of them are returners. Although continuity is often regarded as a precursor to a team’s success, retaining such a large part of last season’s squad, and under the same coaching staff, could be a recipe for more mediocrity.
Perhaps the brightest beam on the roster is Xavier O’Neil, who was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team at the conclusion of last season. He played in all 17 games and started 15, leading the team with four assists and 32 shots to go along with six points.
Augustine Boadi and Jonathan Murphy each scored three goals last season to lead the Eagles in scoring. But while Murphy will remain with the Eagles for the 2024 season after scoring half of his shot attempts last season, Boadi transferred to play at St. John’s in New York.
Losing one of its leading scorers doesn’t bode well for a BC squad that already struggled to score. The Eagles ranked last in the ACC in goals last season with 12—nine goals fewer than the next worst team and 38 goals fewer than first-ranking Duke.
Drew Serafino, who appeared in every match in the 2023 season, left BC for Virginia.
Another notable departure is Ted Cargill. He played in 16 games last season and played the full 90 minutes in all but two of those matches. He will spend the 2024 season at South Carolina.
Also leaving the Eagles to play for the Gamecocks is Alfie Hughes, a rising sophomore who started 13 of the 16 matches he played in last year for the Eagles.
Marco Dos Santos, a sophomore midfielder who saw significant time in 16 games last season, will remain with the Eagles. Defensemen CJ Williams, Moritz Gundelach and Jack Burkhardt—all of whom played all but one game last season—are also returning to BC, and will presumably get significant field time.
New Additions
Joining the Eagles are twelve new faces—seven freshmen and five transfers.
Michael Asare, a forward from Kumasi, Ghana who tallied 34 goals and 15 assists in his 2023-24 club season, is the only first-year at his position.
Devon Galluzzo and Bryan Toro will join BC’s defensive squad, while four midfielders will compete for the Eagles.
Christian Martins out of Framingham, Mass., will stay close to home, while Sander Martinsen-Wold and Arno Schumacher come all the way from Norway and Germany, respectively.
Martinsen-Wold played in the second tier of the Norwegian soccer league system for Moss FK, while Schumacher played for two professional soccer clubs in Germany before coming to BC.
Highlighting the transfer class is Ask Ekeland, a midfielder who spent two seasons at Duquesne. He was named First Team All-Atlantic 10 and A-10 Midfielder of the Year last season after scoring 12 goals and racking up 27 points.
Forward Leo Guarino will stay in the ACC following his three-year career at Wake Forest, during which he played in 51 games. Guarino will face his former team on Oct. 5 on the road.
Marci Killeen, a midfielder out of Cal State Fullerton, will join the Eagles after being named to the Second Team All-Big West after the 2023 season.
The only defenseman and sole graduate student in this season’s transfer class is Marc Boye. He made 76 starts in the 77 games he played in at Campbellsville over the last four seasons. As a senior, he was named to the NCCAA Second-Team All-American and helped his team to a 2021 NCAA National Championship.
Bryce Copeland-Del Toro, a goalkeeper who played the last two years at Florida Gulf Coast, made 17 saves and allowed 10 goals in seven games last season. Brennan Klein and Leon Musial each saw in the net last year, but Klein ultimately played the majority of games and tallied a .703 save percentage.
Notable Matchups
The Eagles will open up their season on Aug. 22 versus Iona and play their first three games at home. Overall, nine of BC’s 15 games will take place at home—an advantage that may be crucial after the Eagles went 0–6 on the road last year.
BC will take on defending national champion Clemson on Sept. 13 at home. The Eagles lost last year’s matchup against the Tigers 6–0.
On Sep. 24, the Battle of Comm Ave will take place as BC travels to take on Boston University.
Oct. 26’s game versus Stony Brook will mark BC’s Senior Night, and then the Eagles will pay the Tarheels a visit to close out the regular season on Nov. 1.
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