BC fell below .500 with the loss. (Yamari Santillan / Heights Staff)
Following a shutout road loss to No. 6 Stanford last weekend, Boston College men’s soccer traveled to New York, looking to find itself in the win column against Syracuse.
BC entered the game hoping to improve to .500 on the season and having gone unbeaten in its last seven meetings with the Orange. But on Friday night, the Eagles’ stagnant offense was unable to find the back of the net at SU Soccer Stadium, and BC (5–6–0, 1–4–0 Atlantic Coast) ultimately lost to the Orange (5–4–2, 2–2–0) 1–0.
BC struggled with the Orange’s defensive press during the first 45 minutes of play, as Syracuse defenders forced BC into a handful of mistakes through ball pressure. Syracuse’s athleticism and physicality brought BC to just one shot on goal in the entire first frame.
The Eagles’ defense held strong, though, as goalkeeper Andrej Borak totaled five saves to keep Syracuse scoreless. BC found the most success from playing the ball in behind, sending the ball upfield while having strikers make runs into open space.
It was a 0–0 ball game entering the second frame, and the Eagles needed to create more scoring opportunities if they wanted to come out on top.
In the 59th minute, Fynn Henze crossed the ball to the far post, finding Nikolai Rojel in the box and giving BC fans hope. But Rojel was unable to capitalize as his shot sailed over the crossbar.
Through the first 25 minutes of the second half, BC had the better share of chances, challenging Syracuse in the box and leading the shot count 5–2.
Just as BC seemed to have gained momentum, though, Syracuse pinballed through the BC defense in the 66th minute. Giona Leibold crossed the ball toward Bryson Rodriguez, who found the back of the net for the first time in his collegiate career, heading the ball past Borak to take the lead.
The Eagles countered Syracuse’s attack, and BC’s Russell Brown had three legitimate scoring opportunities within five minutes of Rodriguez’s goal.
With 12 minutes to go in the matchup and the ball loose, BC’s offense split the Syracuse defense with a through pass, leading to Brown’s second shot of the day. But Syracuse goaltender Tomas Hut blocked the low, centered shot, keeping the Eagles scoreless.
Brown ripped another shot into the bottom-left corner just a minute later. Once again, though, Hut was there.
The Orange’s press kept BC dormant the entirety of the game, and the 90 minutes came to a close as Borak sprinted across the pitch to slide tackle Syracuse’s Landon Darko, concluding the game with a yellow card for the Eagles.