UMB-season over

Sunday afternoon’s result at Nickerson Field was a fitting way to conclude what has been a dominant regular season for the Boston University women’s soccer team.’

Although BU had clinched the regular-season title prior to Sunday’s game, it was important to build momentum for the upcoming conference tournament, and to give the seniors a memorable last regular season game of their collegiate careers.’ ‘

With the 5-0 demolition of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, the Terriers ended the year with a 12-5-2 record, 7-1-0 in America East play.’ UMBC dropped to 2-14-1, 1-7-0 in the conference.

BU dominated from the opening whistle, keeping possession in the offensive zone and constantly pressuring the UMBC defense.’ Senior back Mikaela Hansen sent a perfectly placed ball into the box where classmate Taleen Dimirdjian dove and headed the ball into the right side of the net, to give BU a one-goal lead.’ It was the senior’s third goal of the season and Hansen’s first career point as a Terrier.’

BU piled on the goals, scoring two in less than eight minutes.’ On an offensive counter, sophomore midfielder Brittany Heist slipped a pass to senior forward Farrell McClernon who snuck the ball in bottom left corner of the net.’ Less than three minutes later, senior midfielder Emily Pallotta netted her team leading seventh goal.’ Senior captain Casey Brown sent a pass to Pallotta who managed to keep her balance as she dribbled past a UMBC defender before shooting the ball in the left side of the net.’

On a Sunday afternoon, when the seniors were honored, it only seemed fitting that the first half belonged to the seniors as they combined for three goals and two assists.’ Five of the eight seniors managed to tally either a goal or an assist, while all were given the start by BU coach Nancy Feldman.’

‘They have been unbelievably impactful [sic] group since the day they arrived here,’ BU coach Nancy Feldman said of the seniors.’

‘They’re talented.’ They’re mentally strong and tough.’ They are competitive.’ ‘ Today was their day to shine [and] they did.’ Taleen getting the first goal, Farrell getting a goal, and [the seniors] getting a couple of assists.’ I’m glad they got a day where they could have fun and fire away and celebrate all their successes.’

The Terriers outshot UMBC by an astounding 31-0 margin, which shows how dominant both the offense and defense were for the whole 90 minutes.’

‘We didn’t let down at all today even though the opponent was not the best we played,’ said senior co-captains Mara Osher and Casey Brown. ‘Our speed of play is staying high and we’re really getting dynamic in our attack and were being really strong upfront. It’s great to see that our offense is putting up a lot of goals. We are playing 90 minutes now and that’s crucial for us going into the playoffs.”

BU continued its offensive pressure in the second half, bombarding UMBC freshman goalie Jaclyn Drummond with 18 shots, eight of which were on goal.’

Brittany Heist added to her earlier assist when she struck the ball off the inside of the right post to give BU a four-goal advantage.’ Six minutes later, sophomore midfielder Jessica Luscinski fired a shot from 20 yards out that caught Drummond out-of-position and deflected off her hands into the net.’ Luscinski finished the regular season leading the Terriers with 18 total points.’

Senior goalie Janie Reilly had an easy day, facing no shots, but still recording her eighth shutout of the season.

Feldman was pleased with her team’s performance in the regular season and is optimistic of their current position.

‘We have positioned ourselves well being able to host the semifinal game and get a bye,’ Feldman said.’ ‘So certainly, we put ourselves in a great position.’ I think it says a lot about the consistency of your performance when you win a regular season competition over the course of eight games.’