Boston University men lose to New Hampshire

BOSTON - Despite having a 23-10 edge in shot attempts, the Boston University men's soccer team fell to New Hampshire, 1-0, Wednesday night at Nickerson Field with 12 seconds remaining in the first overtime period of the America East semifinals. With their second overtime win over the top-seeded Terriers (11-5-1) this season, the fifth-seeded Wildcats (9-5-5) improve to 6-1-5 when heading into an extra session.

After a Wildcat goal off a header was nullified at 98:30 due to an offsides call, UNH was still able to avoid going to a second overtime. A pass from the midfield was placed just outside the box to a group of men with the ball finding the feet of Charlie Roche. He quickly placed a through ball to Dylan George, who was able to speed past three BU defenders and then dribble a few yards inside the box on the left side before firing a shot toward the far post for the score.

To advance to the America East Championship final, BU needed to solve the puzzle of UNH's defense, which featured the league's Goalkeeper of the Year Colin O'Donnell and several players playing back on defense. First-team all-conference forward Ben Berube tried to put the Terriers on the board with a game-high seven shot attempts but just couldn't find the net.

Playing for the first time since a 4-0 victory over Albany on Oct. 30, the Terriers had several opportunities, including early in the game at 7:38 when redshirt freshman Max White rifled the ball toward the keeper. The ball deflected back to the middle of the box, but no one was close enough to grab the rebound.

BU entered the locker room at the half ahead in shots, 13-4, and again maintained possession for most of the second stanza. Still, the Terriers were unable to break down UNH's backline, which earned its 10th shutout of the season.

The Terriers entered the week with an RPI of 32 and will wait for Monday's NCAA tournament selection show to see if they will receive an at-large bid to the 48-team field for the second time in four years.

If they do not advance, the game will mark the end for six seniors, including two-time first-team all-conference honoree and 2007 AE Rookie of the Year Aaron O'Neal. He ranks 10th all-time at BU with 27 goals.