Coming into Tuesday's game against Boston University, the men's soccer team had no streaks to speak of, winning or losing. In a 2-0 loss to the Terriers, Brown (6-5-2) continued its game-to-game ups and downs after a 2-0 victory over Cornell this past Saturday.
Brown controlled the ball for most of the first half, but BU tallied the only goal of the first half.
"We possessed the ball and moved it around really well, but we were not moving it forward, and we didn't threaten their goal much," said assistant coach Scott Wiercinski. "On their goal we made one bad touch and one bad choice, and they got the ball. It wasn't just one breakdown but a mistake in a couple of different areas."
The loss to the Terriers, in which Brown outplayed BU overall, was reminiscent of many of Brown's close losses this year.
"It kind of stinks, because it was one of those games where you do most of the things correctly and make one or two mistakes and it costs you the game," said Ibrahim Diane '06.
In addition to the costly defensive letdown in the first half, Brown suffered several offensive lapses. Right after the BU goal, the Bears stormed down the field and Diane crossed a ball into the middle of the field, but two Brown players failed to convert on clear opportunities.
"Luck has not been on our side, but this year we've made our own bad luck at times," Wiercinski said. "We are paying the piper for not capitalizing on chances we have created."
Brown had fewer scoring chances in the second half, but the game was not out of reach until BU scored with just a little more than three minutes left.
"We didn't take care of the ball as much and got a little bit overexcited at times," Wiercinski said. "At times our decisions seemed panicked and not as constructed as they should have been. Our game plan was good, but we failed to execute."
The loss to a mediocre regional team greatly diminishes Brown's chances for an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. Postseason aspirations for the Bears hinge upon the Ivy League championship. With a 2-2 record and three games remaining, Brown must win out and hope that the teams with one loss drop a few games.
"There is still a glimmer of hope, and we are still fighting," Diane said. "I believe we can still win the Ivy championship, and there are 26 other guys on the team who feel the same way."
One thing the Bears have working for them is the parity of the Ivy League. Of the 16 Ivy League games played thus far, only two games have been decided by more than two goals. But because each team only plays seven games, even one loss makes it difficult to earn top billing in the league.
"Every game (in the league) will be hard-fought. It's a tooth-and-nail battle to the end," Wiercinski said. "When there is parity, you expect that one loss won't cost you the league, but because there are so few games, it can put you out of reach."
As the team moves into the final stretch of the season, the Bears try to maintain a positive outlook.
"Morale is really important, because we have a decent amount of disappointing losses," Wiercinski said.
This Saturday, the Bears will try to move up in the Ivy standings as they face a struggling University of Pennsylvania team that is winless in its last four games.
