Photo by: Nick Romei
Incremental Growth Leading Eagles Into First Match Of 2025
August 21, 2025 | Men's Soccer, #ForBoston Files
BC is back on the pitch with a small-but-tough margin separating the Eagles from national contention.
Boston College men's soccer head coach Bob Thompson fully understood the razor thin margin standing between the Eagles and a trip to last season's national tournament. The 6-5-6 overall record was one win less than UCLA's bid from the Big Ten and two wins behind the six teams advancing to the College Cup playoff with eight-win seasons. One or two more goals against Iona or Providence at the start of the season, a single goal to draw level or defeat conference teams like Syracuse or Clemson, another goal against Boston University or Louisville or Virginia or Notre Dame all could have or would have altered BC's dreams.
The difference between BC and the tournament boiled down to a two-goal or three-goal swing, yet Thompson's digestion of the difference between the Eagles and the national tournament glared at a chasm. Sure, an extra goal against No. 15 Southern Methodist might have advanced the Eagles to the next round of the ACC Tournament while inserting them into the 48-team bracket for the first time since 2019, but gaining those advantages was significantly more difficult than simple.
Looking at a fast start to the 2025 season therefore reigned paramount within BC's overall training regimen. Those draws against non-conference opponents needed to become wins as part of the team's next step, so as Thursday's opener against Binghamton drew nearer, the head coach and his team began operating with an urgency that's now clearly harnessing their overall chemistry and culture.
"As a coach, the shift in culture is so clear," Thompson told The Podcast for Boston in his preseason appearance. "Last year was definitely better, and I honestly felt like it even got better throughout the year. We didn't give up goals [over] the run of our last four ACC games, so the mentality improved, the culture got stronger, and when we beat UNC towards the end of the year, guys started getting that belief, which is an important part of turning the corner."
BC's win over the eighth-ranked Tar Heels upended the national conversation at a time when playoff positioning was at a premium. The high-powered two-time national champion was part of the previous four tournaments and missed just two brackets since the Atlantic Coast Conference initially expanded in the mid-2000s. The four-time regular season league champions held three conference tournament crowns and nine trips to the College Cup and were as high as No. 3 in the nation after going undefeated in their first nine games.Â
They also regained an apparent groove after a 2-1 win over No. 7 Stanford erased leftover sour memories from losses to Clemson and Pittsburgh. A 1-1 draw at Notre Dame was sandwiched between those two league results, and the entirety diminished the dueling demolition wins over College of Charleston and William & Mary. Beating the Cardinal on enemy turf simultaneously moved UNC into third place in the ACC table while BC hadn't won a league game since 2022 while failing to beat a ranked opponent since 2019.
"I made the mistake as a younger coach [to] think that it was just a talent thing," said Thompson. "You're like, 'Oh, we didn't win these games, so we need more goals,' so you bring in two goal scorers that are better goal scorers. But if the culture isn't right, something else falls through, so for me, turning that corner was about a mentality. We won at UNC in a 50-50 game, possession-wise. It was a relatively even game. They created more chances, which you'd expect because they're at home [and] a top-10 team, but the mentality was just the difference. Celebrating tackles, defending hard, having great body language and communicating and helping each other out. In that game, everybody on the field was pointing to somebody and trying to guide [teammates] on where to be."
Losing to SMU in the first round of an ACC Tournament with nine national tournament sides did little to stop that conversation ahead of offseason training and the 2025 opener against Binghamton. The BC team appearing at Newton Campus on Thursday evening retained nine players with 14 or more appearances on last season's roster, and five players saw action in all 17 games.Â
Leading scorer Ask Ekeland came back for another go at the front of BC's overall attack, and the back four retained a combined 66 caps from last season. Seven transfers and one graduate student include Ziad Abdul-Malak from a newer Division I program at Le Moyne, and familiar names like Jack Burkhardt, Michael Asare, Max Andrews and Marci Killeen - the game-winning goal scorer from that win over the Tar Heels - all dot Thompson's possibilities on the pitch.
"You have to do things even if they're hard," said Thompson, "and I think we did that as a staff. We had to release one of our top goal scorers during the preseason, and that presents a challenge for the season, but when you're looking at the long-term, guys have to know that coaches are true to their word. [The staff] can't just keep someone who isn't buying into what they're doing because they think it will help them in the short term, so our standards, every year, is something that we're telling the guys. Every time we bring somebody onto the team, even if it's a transfer, we're super selective on character pieces. Ask is a transfer, and his character is through the roof. He's doing everything right off the field, so that proof is showing guys that are on the team that they can buy-in even more. [The coaches] are honest and being true to their word, so they can buy into it."
Few coaches beyond Thompson understand how that element is key to BC's approach. The local product developed under Ed Kelly at a time when the Eagles were still a Big East power, and he returned to Chestnut Hill in the aftermath of the program's run to the NCAA Quarterfinals during the mid-2010s. He served as interim head coach for 2019's nine-win season and 3-0 NCAA Tournament win over Yale.
Yet his greatest stamp and accomplishment is only just starting to bear fruit. The program ravaged by a one-win record during the ill-gotten COVID season in 2020 incrementally built its way towards a .500 record in 2024, and while a "one-win season" in the league appears modest at best, an extra win in the nation's best men's soccer league is quality enough to overcome the three-win season from a Big Ten team.Â
Gaining an extra win and a draw is certainly enough to bridge the gap to a national tournament, but it requires work on a match-by-match basis. No game is more important than the 90 minutes against Binghamton, which went 8-7-4 last season with a 5-5-1 record away from its home campus but hasn't played a Power Four team since a 3-0 loss to No. 1 Syracuse in August, 2023.
"Play isn't going to be perfect to start the year," explained Thompson, "but we're looking for the togetherness of our group. That's what we saw in the Fairfield [exhibition] that was much better than the start of last year. Part of it is body language, but a big part of it, tactically, is the tightness of the group. When you're defending, if your team is always compact, they're working together. If you're stretched and your weak side is miles away while you're defending, then you're not together enough mentally.Â
"What's going to win games, even in our non-conference games, is that mentality piece," he said. "Binghamton is going to be a tough game. I know their coach well, and he does a great job. They're going to be fit. They're going to be tough. There are no easy games, especially in those non-conference games, where we're treated as an ACC game, which is huge for them. Our guys are recognizing that."
BC and Binghamton kick off on Thursday evening with a 5 p.m. start from the Newton Campus Soccer and Lacrosse Field. The game can be seen on the ACC Network Extra as part of ESPN's Direct-to-Consumer streaming platform available to subscribers and cable subscribers with access to the ACC Network. For more information, visit ESPN.com.
The difference between BC and the tournament boiled down to a two-goal or three-goal swing, yet Thompson's digestion of the difference between the Eagles and the national tournament glared at a chasm. Sure, an extra goal against No. 15 Southern Methodist might have advanced the Eagles to the next round of the ACC Tournament while inserting them into the 48-team bracket for the first time since 2019, but gaining those advantages was significantly more difficult than simple.
Looking at a fast start to the 2025 season therefore reigned paramount within BC's overall training regimen. Those draws against non-conference opponents needed to become wins as part of the team's next step, so as Thursday's opener against Binghamton drew nearer, the head coach and his team began operating with an urgency that's now clearly harnessing their overall chemistry and culture.
"As a coach, the shift in culture is so clear," Thompson told The Podcast for Boston in his preseason appearance. "Last year was definitely better, and I honestly felt like it even got better throughout the year. We didn't give up goals [over] the run of our last four ACC games, so the mentality improved, the culture got stronger, and when we beat UNC towards the end of the year, guys started getting that belief, which is an important part of turning the corner."
BC's win over the eighth-ranked Tar Heels upended the national conversation at a time when playoff positioning was at a premium. The high-powered two-time national champion was part of the previous four tournaments and missed just two brackets since the Atlantic Coast Conference initially expanded in the mid-2000s. The four-time regular season league champions held three conference tournament crowns and nine trips to the College Cup and were as high as No. 3 in the nation after going undefeated in their first nine games.Â
They also regained an apparent groove after a 2-1 win over No. 7 Stanford erased leftover sour memories from losses to Clemson and Pittsburgh. A 1-1 draw at Notre Dame was sandwiched between those two league results, and the entirety diminished the dueling demolition wins over College of Charleston and William & Mary. Beating the Cardinal on enemy turf simultaneously moved UNC into third place in the ACC table while BC hadn't won a league game since 2022 while failing to beat a ranked opponent since 2019.
"I made the mistake as a younger coach [to] think that it was just a talent thing," said Thompson. "You're like, 'Oh, we didn't win these games, so we need more goals,' so you bring in two goal scorers that are better goal scorers. But if the culture isn't right, something else falls through, so for me, turning that corner was about a mentality. We won at UNC in a 50-50 game, possession-wise. It was a relatively even game. They created more chances, which you'd expect because they're at home [and] a top-10 team, but the mentality was just the difference. Celebrating tackles, defending hard, having great body language and communicating and helping each other out. In that game, everybody on the field was pointing to somebody and trying to guide [teammates] on where to be."
Losing to SMU in the first round of an ACC Tournament with nine national tournament sides did little to stop that conversation ahead of offseason training and the 2025 opener against Binghamton. The BC team appearing at Newton Campus on Thursday evening retained nine players with 14 or more appearances on last season's roster, and five players saw action in all 17 games.Â
Leading scorer Ask Ekeland came back for another go at the front of BC's overall attack, and the back four retained a combined 66 caps from last season. Seven transfers and one graduate student include Ziad Abdul-Malak from a newer Division I program at Le Moyne, and familiar names like Jack Burkhardt, Michael Asare, Max Andrews and Marci Killeen - the game-winning goal scorer from that win over the Tar Heels - all dot Thompson's possibilities on the pitch.
"You have to do things even if they're hard," said Thompson, "and I think we did that as a staff. We had to release one of our top goal scorers during the preseason, and that presents a challenge for the season, but when you're looking at the long-term, guys have to know that coaches are true to their word. [The staff] can't just keep someone who isn't buying into what they're doing because they think it will help them in the short term, so our standards, every year, is something that we're telling the guys. Every time we bring somebody onto the team, even if it's a transfer, we're super selective on character pieces. Ask is a transfer, and his character is through the roof. He's doing everything right off the field, so that proof is showing guys that are on the team that they can buy-in even more. [The coaches] are honest and being true to their word, so they can buy into it."
Few coaches beyond Thompson understand how that element is key to BC's approach. The local product developed under Ed Kelly at a time when the Eagles were still a Big East power, and he returned to Chestnut Hill in the aftermath of the program's run to the NCAA Quarterfinals during the mid-2010s. He served as interim head coach for 2019's nine-win season and 3-0 NCAA Tournament win over Yale.
Yet his greatest stamp and accomplishment is only just starting to bear fruit. The program ravaged by a one-win record during the ill-gotten COVID season in 2020 incrementally built its way towards a .500 record in 2024, and while a "one-win season" in the league appears modest at best, an extra win in the nation's best men's soccer league is quality enough to overcome the three-win season from a Big Ten team.Â
Gaining an extra win and a draw is certainly enough to bridge the gap to a national tournament, but it requires work on a match-by-match basis. No game is more important than the 90 minutes against Binghamton, which went 8-7-4 last season with a 5-5-1 record away from its home campus but hasn't played a Power Four team since a 3-0 loss to No. 1 Syracuse in August, 2023.
"Play isn't going to be perfect to start the year," explained Thompson, "but we're looking for the togetherness of our group. That's what we saw in the Fairfield [exhibition] that was much better than the start of last year. Part of it is body language, but a big part of it, tactically, is the tightness of the group. When you're defending, if your team is always compact, they're working together. If you're stretched and your weak side is miles away while you're defending, then you're not together enough mentally.Â
"What's going to win games, even in our non-conference games, is that mentality piece," he said. "Binghamton is going to be a tough game. I know their coach well, and he does a great job. They're going to be fit. They're going to be tough. There are no easy games, especially in those non-conference games, where we're treated as an ACC game, which is huge for them. Our guys are recognizing that."
BC and Binghamton kick off on Thursday evening with a 5 p.m. start from the Newton Campus Soccer and Lacrosse Field. The game can be seen on the ACC Network Extra as part of ESPN's Direct-to-Consumer streaming platform available to subscribers and cable subscribers with access to the ACC Network. For more information, visit ESPN.com.
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