BOSTON, Mass. – The Navy men's soccer team fell on the road to Boston University, 1-0, in its Patriot League opener at BU's Nickerson Field Saturday evening.
 
With the loss, the Midshipmen fall to 5-1-1 overall with a 0-1-0 mark in Patriot League contests. Boston earned its first win of the season, improving to 1-4-1 overall with a 1-0-0 record in conference play.
 
"The guys played well on a difficult night," said head coach Tim O'Donohue. "We were pressing to score and came out really playing well. We were knocking on the door and they caught us on the counter attack. We have to learn from it and move on."
 
The contest was largely a defensive battle, with Navy setting the tone by limiting the Terriers to just one shot in the first half. The Boston defense matched the effort of the Midshipmen, turning away two shots on goal by Jacob Williams (Sr., Millersville, Md.) to send the contest to halftime scoreless.
 
Navy carried its strong defensive effort into the second half, forcing wide another two BU shots along with adding two shots, including one on goal by Baba Kallie (So., Coatesville, Pa.), prior to the contest entering a lightning delay at the 63:30 mark.
 
Following a near two-hour delay, the Midshipmen tallied a corner kick attempt in the 68th minute followed by a Jason Aoyama (So., Narberth, Pa.) shot on goal at the 78:10 mark, but were unable to convert prolonging the defensive battle.
 
The Boston attack broke through the stout Navy defense when Quinn Matulis netted a pass from Ronaldo Marshall to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead in the 86th minute.
 
The score would ultimately end up being the game-winner as the Midshipmen were unable to strike in the final four minutes.
 
Navy held advantages over Boston in total shots (12-4), shots on goal (6-1) and corner kick attempts (6-1).
 
Williams paced the Midshipmen attack with five shots, three being on goal, while Kallie tallied two shots on goal to his ledger. Aoyama rounded out the top performers on offense for the Mids, adding three attempts with one being on goal. Goalkeeper Tyler Fahning (Sr., Victoria, Minn.) saw his shutout streak end at three-straight games after allowing one score over 90 minutes in net.
 
Matulis led the BU offense with the game-clinching score on two total shots while Marshall and Brian Hernandez tallied one shot apiece. Terrier goalkeeper Francesco Montali recorded six saves en route to his first shutout of the season.
 
Navy will look to bounce back as it returns to action September 29 with a road contest against Colgate. Opening kick of the match is set for 4 p.m.