Going into halftime against No. 2 Pittsburgh, Boston College men’s soccer looked to upset the national powerhouse.
In the first half, Pittsburgh’s (7–1–0, 3–0–0 Atlantic Coast) inability to capitalize on many goal-scoring opportunities in the first half was clear. The Panthers came out of the half with a quick attack, ending in a cross and an easy goal by Albert Thorsen, putting BC (3–2–3, 0–2–1 Atlantic Coast) behind in the contest.
The game was dominated by Pitt on offense, as BC’s plan was extremely defensive.
“We were trying to grow into the game, which I think we did. We were trying to keep a clean sheet in the first half,” Bob Thompson said.
In the first 25 minutes of play, Pitt had already narrowly missed five scoring chances including a shot off the crossbar by Arnau Vilamitjana and four shots from Casper Grening.
BC generated some offense of its own when Christian Bejar cut up the left side of the field and rocketed a shot off the post. Marco Dos Santos came close to scoring with a follow-up shot on Bejar’s attempt, but Pitt goaltender Cabral Carter made his first save of the game to keep the Eagles scoreless.
Right before halftime, BC launched a counterattack when Jonathan Murphy spun around to shoot with a defender at his back, but it ended up being a weak lob to Carter for an easy save. Still, the Eagles went into the half with momentum after holding the Panthers scoreless for the first 45 minutes.
Pitt’s offensive pressure became deadly in the second half. Albert Thorsen scored quickly to open the half, and BC’s defensive game plan collapsed.
Sophomore star Xavier O’Neil’s runs up the side of the field for crosses into the middle provided signs of life in an otherwise stagnant Eagles’ offense.
“We had enough chances. I think we had to capitalize on one…I think we created enough chances to leave us with a 1-1 game,” Thompson said.
As time wound down, the Eagles got more desperate for some offense, leaving themselves vulnerable on defense. Pitt capitalized as Luis Sahmkow scored a seemingly effortless tap-in goal off a cross.
With that goal, Sahmkow scored his sixth goal in the last four games, and put the game out of reach for the BC.
“I’m just happy with the mentality of our guys,” Thompson said. “Culturally, like towards the end…They’re not giving up against anybody, you know. So that’s something that I’m the happiest about.”
BC now sits with only one point in ACC play, a result of the Eagles’ tie against No. 20 Syracuse.
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