The men's soccer team has played well against Boston College in recent years, winning the previous three games. But none of those successes were on the minds of the Bears (4-2-1) entering Tuesday night's match-up against the No. 13 Eagles (3-3-1).
The focus was on this year's game, and they knew it would be a solid match.
As it turned out, one goal decided the final outcome of this head-to-head game between the two teams. Rhett Bernstein '09 knocked in the only goal of the game in the 47th minute off a corner kick from Darren Howerton '09. This is the second game in a row the pair has hooked up for a one-two offensive punch.
"Last night was our best performance so far this year," said defender David Walls '11. "We lifted our game to a new level and played well defensively."
BC outshot Brown 20-9, but the Bears' defense held strong again as they kept the Eagles off the scoreboard for their sixth shutout of the season. Paul Grandstrand '11 recorded his first win of the season with three saves.
Howerton has recently returned to the line-up after missing all of pre-season and the first few games due to a knee injury. He has been rehabbing and getting back into shape, according to Walls, and has made huge impact on the team with his offensive production and leadership since his return.
"Howerton has had a big effect on the last two games, creating some good scoring opportunities," Bernstein said.
The team's fourth consecutive win over the Eagles gave Brown a boost of confidence going into the next part of its season.
"We still have a long way to go. Last night's results definitely showed that we can be one of the top teams in the country," Bernstein said. "We're still coming together as a team - it's important that we keep on improving."
The Bears will head to UNC-Greensboro Saturday to take on the Spartans at 7 p.m.
The team's outlook is taking one game at a time, not thinking too much about their Ivy League schedule that starts after their game this weekend.
"We're right where we want to be at going into the UNC-Greensboro game," Head Coach Mike Noonan said. "The BC game gives us a good platform for this weekend's game."
After the UNC-Greensboro match-up, the Bears will have a two-game homestand on Stevenson Field. The team will first takes on Columbia in its Ivy League opener on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m., and follows up with Bryant University on Tuesday, Oct 7 at 7 p.m.
"We're going forward and getting better every day," Walls said.
