Hanken Tjostheim scored his 8th and 9th goals of the season in BC's loss. (Emily Ahern / Heights Editor)
Boston College men’s soccer traveled to Dallas on Saturday night to visit Southern Methodist in an Atlantic Coast clash.
The Eagles (6–7–1, 1–5–1 Atlantic Coast) entered the match seeking consecutive wins for only the second time this season. The Mustangs (7–3–3, 3–1–2) looked to defend Washburne Stadium, a place they’ve lost once all season.
Despite being outshot 4–1 in the first half, BC found themselves up 1–0 at the halftime interval.
SMU’s sophomore forward Stephan Soghomonian lined up to take a free kick in the 15th minute. Just as it appeared Soghamonian’s effort was curling inside the right post, goalkeeper Andrej Borak sprung into action with a diving save, pushing the ball out of harm’s way.
BC opened the scoring with just eight minutes remaining in the period. Johannes Hanken Tjostheim found the back of the net for the seventh time this season after a series of brilliant link-up passes from Russell Brown and Aidan Farwell.
Fortunes favored the Mustangs in the second half. Just a minute into the period, BC senior defender CJ Williams saw red for unsporting behavior, reducing the Eagles to ten men for the remaining 44 minutes of the match.
Boston College was outshot 18–5 on the evening, with the red card plaguing the match.
The Eagles found themselves still holding the lead with 24 minutes remaining, defending against a series of SMU attacks in the process. The Mustangs were scoreless no longer, though, as Ryan Clanton-Pimentel lifted an inviting ball into the box to which Soghomonian headed home, notching his seventh goal of the season.
Despite Borak’s four saves on the night, Soghamonian got the best of him. In addition to his header in the 67th minute, Soghamonian converted a pair of penalties in the 69th and 73rd minutes, completing a hat trick in just over six minutes of game time.
Hanken Tjostheim brought BC back into the match in the 82nd minute on a second effort shot, cutting the deficit to one. It was too little too late for the Eagles, who failed to find an equalizer in the final eight minutes.