The men’s soccer team was in a must-win situation last Wednesday afternoon at Centennial Field, with Boston University as the only obstacle to a playoff birth.

 Instead of achieving what would have been considered an upset, the Catamounts continued the disappointing losing trend — which has been haunting them the entire year — losing to the Terriers 2-1. 

“I thought this game epitomized our entire season,” head coach Jesse Cormier said after the season finale.

“We just came up short in a couple of key areas and key moments,” he said. “Our success factor was all about everyone out there being on the same page and today and this year we didn’t have that.”

The Catamounts had plenty of chances to score and extend their season, but every opportunity that presented itself vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

With 8:49 left in the first half, freshman Sean Sweeney centered a pass off of a Catamount free kick.     

The ball found itself directly on the foot of redshirt sophomore Patrick Alonis. Alonis got off a powerful shot that rattled off the post and the scoring opportunity was lost. 

After a Terrier goal, the Catamounts had another chance to score when junior Kyle Luetkehans headed a centering pass beyond the outstretched arms of the Terrier goalie, but another defender was successful in his desperate attempt to head the ball away and save a goal. 

Less than 30 seconds into the second half, BU’s Stephen Knox recorded his second goal of the game and the Catamounts’ bid for a victory was lost. 

With five minutes left in the game, sophomore Yannick Lewis scored a goal from equally as impressive passes by seniors T.J. Gore and Marty Galvin.

In the end, the comeback attempt fell short.

For keeper Tom Critz and other seniors, not only is the season over, so are their college careers.     

“Obviously it’s a tough pill to swallow,” the emotional Critz said. “But right now I am just reflecting on all the experiences I have had, all the relationships I’ve formed, all the good times and bad.”     

Freshman D.J. Edler  has much higher expectations for the program in the future. 

“I expect that we will improve our record and most importantly improve our mentality,” Edler said. “Knowing what it takes to be successful, we have to take that to a whole new level.”

Cormier knows that not everything can stay the same among the players returning.

“There is a lot of change that needs to take place within the group,” Cormier said. “We can’t let any opportunity like today go by without using it as a learning experience.”

Cormier’s players are on the same wavelength, taking what they learned this season and applying it in the offseason, he said.

For the seniors, their examples will also be a topic of conversation for the offseason.

“I just hope that I have passed on a legacy of hard work and an example for the young guys following behind me in upcoming years,” Critz said.