Saturday night saw classic New England weather during a matchup of two historic New England programs, as the Massachusetts men’s soccer team traveled to Boston University to play the Terriers for the first time since 2011.

The two teams came into the weekend having combined for over 160 seasons of varsity soccer, with the Minutemen leading the all-time series by a count of 21-14-7.

But a driving rainstorm washed away any historical advantage for UMass on Saturday–and their offensive attack—as the Minutemen fell to BU by a final score of 2-0.

It was a frustrating night for UMass(0-5). In the first half, rain created less-than-optimal conditions for its offensive attack. In the second half, the Minutemen were able to put together some quality scoring chances, but none of their shots found the back of the Terriers’ net.

“We made a couple defensive mistakes at the end of the half there,” said UMass interim coach Devin O’Neill. “It was tough conditions for both teams.”

Despite these wet conditions, BU (3-2) was able to break through for two goals in the first half. In the 29th minute, the Minutemen handed the Terriers a scoring chance after a defensive breakdown in their own box. BU junior Jordan Barker took advantage and was able to head the ball past UMass goalkeeper Ryan Buckingham to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead.

In the 42nd minute, BU struck again, as a Minutemen foul gave BU a free kick opportunity just outside the box. Terriers sophomore David Asbjornsson curled the ball over the UMass wall and into the back of the net, extending the BU lead to 2-0 and providing the final score of the game.

“It was a fast, slick field, but you have to give their guys credit,” said O’Neill.

In the second half, neither team was able to score. The Minutemen got a little offense going and fired off six shots in the half compared to just three in the first.

The best scoring chance for either team came in the 88th minute for UMass, when a long Josh Schwartz free kick found its way into the box. Matt Pease made good contact on an attempted header, but it sailed just wide of the net.

Midfielders Luke Pavone and Peter Alvarenga led the Minutemen attack, as each player attempted two shots with one landing on net. Defensively, Matt Keys and Pease each played a full 90 minutes on the UMass back line.

The night served as a microcosm for the Minutemen’s season thus far, as it was the third consecutive time that they’ve been shut out this season.When O’Neill was asked about his team’s offensive struggles, he spoke more comprehensively about the issues UMass has faced.

“I think we’ve spent most of our time trying to get organized defensively,” said O”Neill. “After the first couple of games, we wanted to work to get that fixed up.”

The defense was average, and the offense struggled to get much of anything going in the first half.But O’Neill thought his team showed significant improvements after the halftime break.

“We showed some signs of positive attack, you know, restart play, getting second and third chances,” O’Neill said. “We thought we played a very good second half.”

Saturday was the first game for the Minutemen after their 10-day, three-state road trip that saw them play four games in Utah and California. UMass has not beaten BU since 2008 and are 0-2-2 in the last four contests between the teams.

The Minutemen return to action Friday at 3 p.m. at Rudd Field, where they will take on Fairfield in their first home game of the season.

Ross Gienieczko can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @RossGien.