By Jenny Chen, Photo Co-Editor • August 26, 2026

For two years in a row, the Boston University men’s soccer team ended its season at the same point and in the same way: a 1-0 loss in the Patriot League semifinals.

One game at home on Nickerson Field, the other in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

“It stings, and you think about it for the whole year again,” senior forward Andrea Di Blasio said. “You just want to get back to that moment and try to change the outcome.” 

The Terriers last won the championship back in 2023, and they are hoping to do it again.

“We all want to do well. We all want to win the Patriot League. We want to make a run in the NCAA tournament,” Di Blasio said.

BU opened its season on the road once again on Thursday at the University of Central Florida, falling 1-0. The team will continue its away trip playing at Northeastern University and Providence College.

“For us to play [at] home in August when school’s not in session, I don’t know if there’s an advantage to that. So let’s go play a couple of away games where there’s going to be an atmosphere, where guys are going to have to be able to do it away from home, in another environment, another type of field,” head coach Kevin Nylen said.

BU will then return to campus for a three-game stretch starting with their home opener on Sept. 4 against the University of New Hampshire. Next they take on the 2024 National Champions, the University of Vermont, before beginning conference play with a matchup against Army West Point on Sept. 12, a team they lost to early last year.

As the season approaches the one-month mark, the Terriers will host two local rivals — Harvard University on Sept. 22 and Boston College on Oct. 13. While they narrowly beat the Crimson 3-2 last year on a late goal, the Eagles got the best of BU in the same fashion, handing them a 2-1 loss. 

The Patriot League semifinal rematch against Lehigh University is set for Oct. 24, once again in Bethlehem, and the team will wrap up the regular season with a short road trip to Worcester to face the Holy Cross Crusaders on Nov. 3.

Preparation for this season, however, looked different than previous years.

Rather than playing five scrimmages like the Terriers have in the past, earlier this year, BU hosted Southern Connecticut State University before competing in the inaugural Northeast Spring Cup.

“It didn’t change how we viewed the spring from a training perspective, but it did give an added factor in terms of a possibility of hoisting a trophy,” Nylen said.

Over late March and through April, they faced BC, UNH, UVM and Providence, winning each game except for the matchup against the Eagles. 

The Terriers will face the same four teams again this season in non-conference play. 

“Just knowing where you’re at compared to [last] fall, then into the spring, and then into this upcoming fall … It’ll be exciting to see all those teams again in a few months,” senior defender Charlie Tuckerman said. 

BU finished third in the Northeast Spring Cup, the placement a promising baseline for a young team that graduated 11 seniors last year — many of whom played key starting roles and won end-of-season awards.

“We scored a bunch of goals in the spring,” Nylen said. “We saw guys increase minutes and roles, and so it was a really positive spring.”

Three transfers and eight freshmen make up the new faces on the team. Two of those transfer students led their team in points last season: junior forward Ben Bagshaw for the College of Charleston and fellow junior forward Louis Crofts for George Washington University.

But even with the newcomers making up around one-third of the team, the Terriers retained plenty of experienced players. 

Di Blasio, who has contributed to much of the Terriers’ recent success in the last few seasons, was announced as a selection to the preseason All-Patriot League Team and as a player to watch by the United Soccer Coaches. 

Arriving on Comm. Ave. after two seasons at Syracuse University, he has been one of the top goalscorers for BU in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

“He’s a threat. He can finish in the box. He can run at you. He can get beyond,” Nylen said.

Junior midfielder Pharis Petrica joins Di Blasio as a preseason All-Patriot League honoree. In his first season in the scarlet and white, he became the team’s main playmaker, leading the team with 7 assists. 

The conference preseason poll has BU ranked second behind American University, receiving 70 total points with one first-place vote.

Losing a group of experienced athletes is tough, but it provides an opportunity for a new chapter of BU men’s soccer.

Yet, the road to a Patriot League championship is lengthy and never the same. The league has not had a repeat champion since 2018, but the Terriers are the only team to make the semifinals each of the last four seasons.

“You have 10 teams [in the Patriot League]. Teams play different ways, different styles, different formations, and so it’s a week-to-week battle. It’s a week-to-week preparation. You have to be prepared and look at every detail,” Nylen said.

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