NEWTON — The Merrimack College men’s soccer team opened its season on Thursday afternoon and were taken down by Boston College, 1-0, held at the Newton Soccer complex.
In the 66th minute, junior midfielder Jonathan Murphy, of Monson, Massachusetts, scored the lone goal of the game – and his first of his career — on a left-footed screamer, coming from the edge of the ‘18-yard box on a pass from Aidan Farwell. Murphy cut inside and drove a shot to the upper left corner to beat Warrior keeper Nelton Semedo.
Merrimack had several chances to score, including a corner kick in the final seconds, but couldn’t find the back of the net. The Warriors put three shots on net, taken by Liam Ziegler, Dylan Barreria and Curtis Moore and all were saved by Brennan Klein, who posted the shut out.
Windham, New Hampshire resident Marco Dos Santos, a freshman midfielder, played all 80 minutes for the Eagles and had one shot on net. Before arriving at Chestnut Hill, Dos Santos played for the New England Revolution Academy and attended VLACS.
Lawrence resident Christian Bejar, a sophomore defender, didn’t see action in the win. Last year as a freshman, he played in 13 games and had an assist. Before BC, he was an All-American at the Brooks School, finishing with 20 goals and 15 assists during his senior season.
This was the eighth time that the two schools have met, and just second match-up since 1989. The last game was held in October of 2019 and the teams ended in a 2-2 tie. Thursday’s win gives BC an 4-1-3 edge in the series.
Merrimack will return to action on Sunday night (7 p.m.) with another road trip to face Providence College.