Late Rally Falls Short Against URI

NEWTON, Mass. – The Boston College men's soccer team got a second-half goal from Beto Luna, but it wasn't enough to overcome the pair of goals by Rhode Island and the Eagles fell, 2-1, on Tuesday night at Newton Campus Field.

URI took a 1-0 lead off a corner in the 38th minute, and then extended it to 2-0 in the 59th minute. The Eagles cut into the lead in the 69th minute through Luna, who converted Younes Boudadi's cross on the run, but could not get closer. BC out-shot URI 26-10 in the game, including a 12-1 edge after the Rams' second goal.

Boston College returns to action on Friday, Sept. 29, when the team hosts Virginia Tech in an ACC conference game at the Newton Campus Fields. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, which is available on WatchESPN and the ESPN app.

Rhode Island 2, Boston College 1
September 26, 2017
Newton, Mass. | Newton Campus Fields

HOW IT HAPPENED

33' | Younes Boudadi overlapped with Callum Johnson down the right side and sent in a lofted cross back over to the far post. Henry Balf was there for the snot, but URI goalkeeper Nils Leifhelm made the save on the post – although he did bobble it with Balf waiting for the rebound before situating himself.
38' | GOAL - Against the run of play, URI earned a corner kick. Peder Kristiansen sent his service toward the near post, where Emil Jesman Sunde flicked the ball back and Niklas Middrup slid behind the BC defense for the tap-in from in close off his shin.
49' | BC pressed to open the second half and Simon Enstrom played Beto Luna in behind the Rams' back line. The freshman, however, had a man on him and sent his shot in at Leifhelm for the easy save in the one-on-one situation.
59' | GOAL - On a restart after a BC free kick, the Rams worked the ball downfield and ended up with a throw in on the edge of their attacking third. Joey Cain played Stavros Zarokostas down the line into the corner, where he threw a cross in and Chae Brangman connected it past Antonio Chavez Borrelli for the two-goal lead.
69' | GOAL - Boudadi fielded the URI clearance attempt and took space along the right side. He then sent an angled cross in, the found Beto Luna sneaking in on the far post. Luna then slotted his shot back across the goal on the run, pulling BC within one goal.
75' | Luna had a chance to level the score when he came on a loose ball in traffic, but his side-volley shot was blocked. Lasse Lehmann helped on the build up, chipping a ball over the top to Simon Enstrom, who then headed a pass across to Luna on the far post. A URI defender, however, got back to block it.
77' | Callum Johnson side-footed the ball ahead to Enstrom near the top of the box, and the forward then deadened the ball for Nikita Bondar coming into the play behind him. Bondar got off a shot in traffic, but Leifhelm made the save to maintain the one-goal edge.
85' | Substitute Adam French came close in the waning minutes as he slid into the six-yard box after Luna played a square pass across to him with a wide open net, but a URI defender recovered just enough to get a toe on it and send the ball over the crossbar for a BC corner.

GAME NOTES

Boston College once again played without two of its starting defenders because of injury: center back Len Zeugner and left back Joshua Forbes. Additionally, Younes Boudadi exited the game in the 70th minute after a collision.
BC's 26 shots were a season high, and URI goaltender Nils Leifhelm made eight saves – the most by an opposing goalkeeper this season
Beto Luna's goal was his second of the season and moved him into a tie for second place in the team's scoring list with Callum Johnson (2g, 1a), Heidar Aegisson (5a) and Boudadi (5a)
Boudadi recorded his fifth assist of the season, which moved him into a tie for the team lead with Heidar Aegisson.
BC dipped to 2-4-0 at home this season and leveled its non-conference record at 3-3 on the year.
Luna's goal in the 69th minute snapped Rhode Island's 468-minute shutout streak that dated back to Sept. 7

Records: Boston College (3-6-0, 0-3-0 ACC), Rhode Island (4-2-2, 0-0-0 A10)
Weather: 85 degrees, mostly sunny and humid
Attendance: 372

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Team Stats

Beto Luna

Younes Boudadi

Simon Enstrom

Nikita Bondar

Players Mentioned

Heidar Aegisson

Henry Balf

Nikita Bondar

Younes Boudadi

Antonio Chavez Borrelli

Simon Enstrom

Joshua Forbes

Adam French

Callum Johnson

Lasse Lehmann

Beto Luna

Len Zeugner

Players Mentioned

Heidar Aegisson

Henry Balf

Nikita Bondar

Younes Boudadi

Antonio Chavez Borrelli

Simon Enstrom

Joshua Forbes

Adam French

Callum Johnson

Lasse Lehmann

Beto Luna

Len Zeugner