After being held scoreless in a half for the first time this season, the No. 12 Boston University lacrosse team rallied to defeat conference rival No. 18 University of New Hampshire on the road, 9-8.
The Wildcats (7-4, 1-2 America East) went into the locker room with a 4-0 lead thanks to two goals from senior Ashley Durepo, two points from senior Shaunna Kaplan and the then-nation-leading 44th goal from senior Sarah Von Bargen. The Terriers (7-3, 2-1) had no answer for the Wildcats’ defense and freshman goalkeeper Kate Gunts, who stopped all eight shots that came her way.
‘We talked to the attackers and told them to relax, calm down and follow the gameplan,’ BU coach Liz Robertshaw said. ‘We made some adjustments for the defense that UNH was playing, and I thought the attackers did a good job of adjusting to that.’
Senior captain Sarah Dalton triggered the attack in the second frame, scoring BU’s first five goals, starting with a tally less than two minutes into the half. She ended the day with six goals, bringing her total to a staggering 47 on the season, wrestling the national lead away from Von Bargen in the process. Three other Terriers notched a goal apiece to complete the 9-4 second-half comeback.
‘She was awesome,’ Robertshaw said. ‘That was something that if we didn’t have her performance [yesterday], we really would not have won this game.’
Senior goalkeeper Rachel Klein was sensational in the cage, recording a career-high 16 saves and only allowing four goals in the second half to aid the BU comeback.
‘She was absolutely fantastic [yesterday],’ Robertshaw said. ‘We owe a lot of credit to her to the way the game ended up. Her saves in big-time moments were clutch for us.’
The defense also locked down in the second half, limiting a Wildcat offense that scored 36 goals in its first two conference games.
‘[Senior captain] Kelly Munroe held their leading scorer, Sarah Von Bargen, to two goals,’ Robertshaw said. ‘I think that’s a great day for her. Defensively, as a whole, I thought we played well . . . UNH, who had been scoring a bunch of goals, only allowing four in the first half and overall eight goals, it speaks volumes. And I think that’s something for our team to feel really good about. Our defense did a bang-up job. It was great.’
Two problems that have bothered BU all season ‘-‘- a lackluster first half and poor draw control ‘-‘- almost cost the team the game when the Terriers drew blanks in both categories.
‘We didn’t have a single draw control in the first half, and we can’t go out like that,’ Robertshaw said. ‘We got better draws in the second, but we have to be able to follow our gameplan and execute from the first whistle to the final whistle. And I don’t think we did that across the board as an entire team.’
Still, the Terriers showed resilience in a difficult spot and proved why they are a powerhouse in America East.
‘I’m really impressed by the way the team came back in the end,’ Robertshaw said. ‘Coming back to win a game like that, it was really impressive as a team effort. It was not a great first half for our attacking unit, obviously, but defensively, from start to finish, it was a great game.
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