Women’s soccer captain Amy Thompson (CAS’23) delivers a cross into the box while hosting Michigan August 28. “We want to win the league, and I think with everyone’s drive, commitment, and determination we’re going to do it,” Thompson says. Photo by Tim Carey

BU Athletics

BU Soccer Squads Kick Off 2022 Campaigns amidst Changes for Both Teams

Men to host home opener Friday, women play Sunday, following the annual Terrier Tailgate

In a sure sign that the fall season has officially begun at BU, Nickerson Field will be abuzz this weekend, with the men’s soccer team’s home opener against St. Joseph’s on Friday at 6 pm and the women taking on rival Boston College on Sunday at 4 pm, immediately following the 15th annual Terrier Tailgate, featuring free food, live music, giveaways, prizes and more. Both teams’ players and coaches are excited for the new season, citing new tactics, fresh faces, and a renewed hunger to succeed.

Women’s soccer 

The soccer women enter the season under new leadership, with Casey Brown (CGS’08, COM’10) succeeding longtime head coach Nancy Feldman, who retired in April after 27 seasons. Brown is only the second coach in program history. 

As an undergrad, she played under Feldman from 2006 to 2009, leading the Terriers to three straight America East championships and four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. 

She served on Feldman’s coaching staff from 2013 to 2016, helping the Terriers claim three Patriot League titles before becoming head coach at Holy Cross, and most recently at the University of Pennsylvania.

“The opportunity to come back to my alma mater, to a place that I care so much about and have so much pride for this program…is just absolutely amazing,” Brown says. 

Also new to the team are assistant coaches Allison Saucier and Megan Burke.

“Coming with a whole new coaching staff, I think everyone came in nervous,” women’s captain Amy Thompson (CAS’23) says. “We honestly could not have gotten any luckier—it’s the best coaching staff ever—all three of them are just incredible. I think having that connection with them has helped foster such a great team culture.”

“We have a clear vision of what we want to do in this program, what we want to achieve this year,” Brown says. “We need to have a championship mindset and mentality, and already three games in, I can tell you we’ve shown signs of that.”

The team hopes to build on the success they enjoyed last year, with a 10-5-3 regular season campaign and winning a 14th conference regular season championship. The Terriers advanced to the Patriot League championship game, but lost to Bucknell 1-0. The program last won the Patriot League in 2018.

The coach’s “energy and her belief in us, that translates to our belief in ourselves,” Thompson says. “We want to win the league, and I think with everyone’s drive, commitment, and determination we’re going to do it.”

The team has had mixed results so far, falling to Northeastern 1-0 in their home opener on August 18, then beating Providence 2-1 on August 21 and UMass Lowell 2-1 on August 25 before falling to Big Ten foe Michigan 6-2 on August 28 and to Yale 1-0 on September 1.  

Players and coaches alike say they’re excited to welcome students back to campus for Sunday’s Terrier Tailgate matchup against BC.

“There’s a moment you walk out the door of the Case Center, and you step onto Nickerson Field and you see thousands of fans, students, and families—it’s an incredible feeling,” Brown says. “We take a lot of pride in being able to kick things off for the student population here, and we love it when everyone shows up and gets to the Terrier Tailgate.”

Men’s soccer

While the women’s team has seen a turnover in its coaching staff, the men’s team has seen a change in its roster with the addition of eight new players, five of them freshmen.

“They’ve come in and in a short period of time immersed themselves within the team,” head coach Kevin Nylen says. “It’s been a promising start for them as a group. And I think that we all would agree that they are going to add a lot of value as we continue to move forward. So we’re really excited.”

The team finished 4-9-3 last season, the fifth consecutive season with a losing record. Despite last year’s disappointing outcome, Nylen says he is optimistic about the team’s prospects this year. “We’re more experienced, we’re more mature,” he says. “I think we’re now a little more hungry, and we now have a better understanding of what is entailed in playing nonconference and then conference opponents.”

The Terriers opened the season August 25 against the University of Albany, drawing at one goal apiece, before taking on No. 9 ranked University of New Hampshire August 28. They kept the affair scoreless, despite getting outshot 11-1 entering halftime. In the 78th-minute, forward Ryan Lee (CGS’21, CAS’23) led a shot past UNH goalie Jassem Koleilat. The 1-0 scoreline would hold, with Terrier goalkeeper Francesco Montali (COM’24) making five saves to preserve the shutout.

“This is definitely a winning group,” defenseman Gianluca Arlotti (CAS’22) says. “We think that everyone came in this season with a different mentality. So we all believe that this is going to be the year that we’ll make the Patriot League Tournament and then hopefully the NCAA Tournament as well.”

Arlotti credits a change in on-field formation for the excitement. More important for the Italian defenseman, he hopes to see the “12th-man,” the Nickerson faithful, ahead of the men’s Friday home opener and the next matchup, with Merrimack on September 5.

“I’m sure [fans] will see that our style of play and our game is going to be better than last year,” Arlotti says. “I believe that the more people come to support us, the more wins we’ll get.”

Nylen says he’s looking forward to playing on the team’s home field this weekend. “We’ve talked about making Nickerson a really difficult place to play for opponents coming in,” he says. “We’ve also talked about creating a really good atmosphere on campus for all of the student body and the BU community. People want to support teams that win and so that’s a job of our guys, to be able to go out and perform.”

The Terrier men’s soccer team hosts St. Joseph’s in the season home opener on Friday, September 2, at 6 pm (fans will receive free ice cream). Then on Monday, September 5 (Labor Day), the men take on Merrimack at 1 pm. The women will host Boston College on Sunday, September 4, at 4 pm, following the 15th annual Terrier Tailgate, which begins immediately following Matriculation (approximately 3 pm). All games are on Nickerson Field. Admission is free and games can be streamed live on ESPN+.