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BC men’s soccer overcame an early red card to defeat BU 2-1 in their home opener Monday night on Newton. Despite being down a man from the 31st minute on, the Eagles won the game thanks to a second-half brace from Stefan Sigurdarson.
Sigurdarson blasted the game-winner into the near-post top netting in the 62nd minute. The goal came off an assist from Amos Shapiro-Thompson, who threaded the ball between two defenders.
The drama started in the 27th minute when Moritz Frahm took down a BU player a yard into the box and the referee called a penalty kick. Quinn Matulis stepped up to the spot and skipped the ball into the lower right corner, beating Christian Garner who guessed left.
Moments later and already down a goal, Frahm took down a BU player from behind in a dangerous tackle, immediately earning a red card. BC protested the call despite Frahm having slid through the player before touching the ball. A scrum erupted, with Colin Innes of BU receiving a yellow card before the referee managed to regain control of the game.
Playing down a man, BC finally came together as a team, shaking off their lackluster start to regain some control in the game. For the remaining 14 minutes, BC registered four shots while preventing BU from getting a shot off.
In the second half, BC played like a completely different team. They challenged every ball while running laps around BU. Down to ten men, BC demonstrated poise on the ball and superior positioning off it.
Shapiro-Thompson threaded a ball through to Aidan Farwell, who dribbled the ball into the corner of the six-yard box before firing off a cross. Sigurdarson collected the cross off his hip and nudged it into the goal to level the score just a minute into the second half.
BC refused to settle into a defensive shell to hold the lead, continuing to push late into the game and denying BU a chance to organize a dangerous counterattack. Michael Suski almost made the score 3-1 in the 78th minute with a shot that cruised just over the crossbar.
The 2-1 final result reflected a total team effort led by Sigurdarson, Shapiro-Thompson, and Farwell. Playing with only 10 men should have benefitted BU by allowing the Terriers more space to create offense. Instead, the extra space allowed the Eagles to play with a creativity and intensity that was missing the first twenty minutes of the game.
Buoyed by a home crowd that grew as the game continued, the Eagles managed to complete a gritty, improbable victory that highlighted Garner’s goalkeeping and the ruggedness of the defense.
The Eagles (1-1-0) take on Hartford at home in Newton on Monday, September 6 at 5:30.
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