Junior transfer from Duquesne Ask Ekeland’s first 38 minutes as an Eagle were nothing short of impressive. He scored two goals in Boston College men’s soccer’s season opener against Iona to put his team up 2–0 headed into the half.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, Ekeland’s first-half heroics weren’t enough to walk away with a season-opening win—something not entirely foreign to a BC squad that tied or lost in 13 of its final 14 matches last season.
The Gaels (0–1) responded in the second half of the match with two goals of their own, stripping the Eagles of their lead and eventually forcing a 2–2 tie to open BC’s (0–1) season.
Things started off rough for the Eagles when star sophomore Xavier O’Neil opened the game with two straight fouls under a minute in.
Things quickly turned around for BC, though. Just over three minutes into the game, Christian Bejar kicked the ball between defenders over to Ekeland near the top of the penalty box.
Ekeland took a touch then delivered a high-arching shot that dropped into the upper right corner of the net to put BC on the board.
2023’s All-Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year didn’t wait long to strike again.
Marci Killeen took off running down the right side of the field about 37 minutes into the first half and received a pass from Max Andrews. Tightly covered by a defender, Killeen spotted Ekeland nearby and used his outside foot to tap the ball backward, setting Ekeland up for a clean look.
Ekeland immediately kicked a strike that zipped past Iona goalie Fernando Schmelz untouched and rippled the left side of the net, putting BC up 2–0. The Eagles preserved their lead for the remaining eight minutes of the half despite a corner kick opportunity for the Gaels.
The steady defense BC held throughout the first half faltered in the second period.
Brennan Klein got the start at goalie for BC and was solid through the first half, saving Iona’s sole shot on goal 16 minutes in. But after the Gaels had tallied one shot on goal in the entire first 46 minutes, it took them just under two minutes of second-half play to register another shot on goal.
Klein saved Sergio Gonzalez Fernandez’s bottom-left attempt, and a team save kept Ricardo Senen Pinillos’ attempt out 58:24 in. But the Eagles could only fend off the Gaels for so long.
Just over a minute after Senen Pinillos’ attempt came up short, Gonzalez Frenandez scored an unassisted goal to cut BC’s lead to one. Less than six minutes later, Dino Feratovic tied things up for Iona.
Nearly 25 minutes passed without either team scoring, even though Leo Guarino and Ekeland registered three shots on goal for BC.
A final-minute shot from Iona’s Alvaro Maneiro missed out the top left, and the game ended in a gridlock.
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