GARDEN CITY — Athletic Club Boise crossed off another first in club history, but it was a first it was hoping to avoid this season.
For the first time this season, AC Boise played to a goalless draw, going up against Corpus Christi FC Saturday night. Once the final whistle sounded at Athletic Club Boise Stadium, the scoreboard read 0-0, with AC Boise feeling both frustration and optimism for how it played.
“If you look at the game as a whole, it’s everything that we want out it to sort of look like besides scoring,” midfielder Charlie Adams said. “There was a big improvement on our defensive actions, especially in the second half when maybe we were a little more tired. We were super concentrated in our defensive actions. It’s clear to see we just have to score a goal.”
AC Boise (31 pts, 9-7-4) had more than twice as many shots as Corpus Christi (23 pts, 5-6-8), but was held without a goal for just the third time this season — the last time coming on May 27.
Head coach Nate Miller was pleased overall with how the team played, but pointed to the opening stages of the game where he believes his team can take advantage of opponents.
“What we need to improve on is in the first 20 to 23 minutes of the game, we had them pinned up against their goal and creating chance after chance,” Miller said. “We just have to bury them then and there. Then the game is completely different.”
Four of Corpus Christi’s six shots on target came in the first half as they looked to hit AC Boise on the counter-attack for the opening goal. AC Boise goalkeeper Jonathan Kliewer was sharp in his own box to stop each shot, but Miller made a point at halftime to limit those opportunities for Corpus Christi.
Boise’s shape with possession in the final third to defend the counter-attack was a point of emphasis.
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“We want to make sure we’re managing every player that’s a potential counter-attacking player,” Miller said. “We’re counter-pressing. They did a good job getting out of some of those. At halftime, we showed some video of situations where we want to make sure they don’t get out. The most important thing of winning a game is not allowing those transition moments.”
Naturally, as the second half wore on, AC Boise’s urgency in attack picked up. Second half subs Denys Kostyshyn, Jesus Barea and Dominic Gasso provided a boost from the bench to help find a winning goal for Boise.
Also aiding in attack was Blake Bodily, who has seen his position on the field shift more central and towards the frontline, in contrast to playing as a left-wing back. His goal is to stretch the defense and provideoverlapping runs opposite of the right-footed Nick Moon on the left flank.
“It’s a new role for me,” Bodily said. “It’s been fun to learn and fun to do. It helps open ups the space in-between the lines a little bit more. I’m trying to make more vertical runs, trying to create space for guys like Charlie and Mayaka in the midfield. The more I can make runs in behind and stretch the opponent, the better for us.”
Forward Thomas Amang was active leading the line with a shot saved and two more chances just miss the target in the second half. Boise’s best chance at a late winner came in the 84th minute when Kostyshyn had a shot saved. AC Boise totaled 28 shots, seven on target.
It was both a frustrating and encouraging evening for AC Boise, who controlled the game with their attacking style of play. Boise did most things right on the night, expect for scoring a goal.
“We’ve had times in the first half this season where we should have scored more goals and gotten results and it feels like the same thing,” Miller said. “What I look at as a coach is ‘Are we playing well? Are we competing at a high level?’ I think all of that was true.”