Boston, MA (U-WIRE) -- After two weeks of being squeezed in tournament action, the Boston University men's soccer team finally popped.

Following two consecutive penalty-kick postseason victories, the Terriers' postseason run through the NCAA College Cup ended Tuesday as BU (10-8-3) fell to the high-octane No. 11 St. John's University, 3-1, in the second round at Belson Field after a failed second-half rally.

The Red Storm (11-5-4) held the Terriers in check despite of a second-half goal by freshman Roland Erlichman that cut the lead in half.

Lightning failed to strike again for the Terriers as Red Storm freshman forward Andrei Gotsmanov (two goals and one assist) orchestrated every St. John's goal, including scoring the game-winner with 36 minutes left. Sebastian Alvarado-Ralph put the Terriers' 2004 campaign on ice with fewer than 10 minutes remaining in the second half.

BU failed to cross midfield in the first 20 minutes of the contest, as the Red Storm dominated with their relentless offensive pressure. St. John's outshot the Terriers 17-4, with Erlichman's goal being BU's only shot on goal.

"We battled back. We made a game of it," said BU coach Neil Roberts. "We've seen this situation before this season, and we weren't going to take it for granted."

What did fall into the Terriers' lap all season was the phenomenal play of sophomore goalie Chad Comroe, who made save after save during an early Red Storm rush.

One mind-blowing save came when Gotsmanov went cross-net on a rocket from the left side, but Comroe dove and stretched to just nick the shot away to the right.

"Chad's been doing this for us all year," Roberts said. "He's kept us close in these types of games, and he made some big time saves for us tonight."

But Comroe's aggressive play that helped the Terriers all season came back to bite them in the worst possible circumstance. Comroe left in the second half when he injured his knee on a challenge at the edge of the box.

Fellow sophomore Zach Riffett played well, making two finger-tip saves off of a continuing Red Storm pressure, but eventually let up the clincher to Ralph.

"We've been through injuries this season, and we handled Chad's the same way," Roberts said. "Zach filled in well on the spot."Erlichman sparked flashes of hope for another BU second-half comeback. The Terriers finally responded to the 2-0 deficit with 33 minutes left, when Jamie Johnson sent a ball across to the left side. Derek Puerta screened St. John's goalie Bill Gaudette and fed Erlichman, who ripped a low shot into the back of the net.

But St. John's just proved too much to handle, as BU recognized the Gotsmanov family resemblance. Gostamnov (whose University of Rhode Island senior brother Sasha scored two goals against BU on September 22) had five shots on goal, capitalizing on the St. John's offensive force.

"It was just a tough one for us," Comroe said. "We had hopes coming into this game, but we just fell short. We knew it would be tough, and it just was."

BU compiled a 2-6 record on the road in 2004 while running into various momentum-killing games away from Nickerson Field. After five straight wins at home, the Terriers lost to the University of Maine in Orono. And first-half mental lapses against Stony Brook University cost the Terriers a key conference game.

These elements reared their ugly head in the second-round game Tuesday. BU played on its heels throughout the first half, and not even a second-half goal curbed the Queens stampede.

Matt Groenwald sparked the Red Storm with his rapid transition game, and dissected the Terrier defense. While Gotsmanov finished for the Red Storm, Groenwald's offensive creativity initiated almost every Red Storm scoring chance, as he danced through Terrier defenders all night.

"They put us under pressure from the beginning, and we would have been lucky to have ended the half tied 0-0," Roberts said.

Junior back Matt Cross felt the pain of the last-ditch Terrier effort first-hand. With fewer than 15 minutes left in the second half, Cross fought for a loose ball and was hip-checked by Red Storm back Andre Schmid, who sent Cross into the surrounding boards. Schmid received a yellow card on the play, and according to Roberts, Cross was scheduled to receive about 15 or 20 stitches on his forehead.

Cross personified the gutsy play of the Terrier squad, which unfortunately ran out of time.

"I'm proud of our play," Roberts said. "The guys fought back, and even when we were down, it didn't seem to faze them."

The Terriers' second-round finish in the NCAA tournament was the longest such postseason run for BU since 1994, when it also fell in the second round. After a five-game win streak and their first outright conference title in seven years, the Terriers left Queens with a disappointed, but slightly satisfied aura.

"We're all walking out of here with no regrets," said BU associate head coach Andy Fleming. "Some teams dream of reaching the tournament, and we got to the second round this year. We had a young team, and we just came in and did our job. We're very optimistic about the future of the program."

(C) 2004 The Daily Free Press via U-WIRE