Downey key part of tough BU defense

Now on a three-game tear, the Boston University lacrosse team has outscored its opponents 40-20 during that streak to keep up its torrid pace.

However, offense hasn’t been the only answer – a major contribution to the Terriers’ wins has been their shutdown defense that seems to makes its stand in the second half of games. The Terriers have given up only eight goals in the second half during this three-game stretch, an average of 2.7 goals a game.

After the Terriers’ win over University of Maryland-Baltimore County on Saturday, BU coach Liz Robertshaw said that she “thought [that in the] second half [BU] really put it together….and controlled the tempo.”

A key component of this defensive domination is senior midfielder Corcoran Downey. Downey’s statistics speak for themselves. She has an average of 19 caused turnovers, 25 ground balls and 14 draw controls a season, including her freshman season, during which she only made five starts. She ranks eighth in program history for caused turnovers with 72.

During her sophomore season, Downey was named to the America East All-Conference Second Team. Last season, Downey ranked fourth on the team with 35 ground balls, and she led the team with 27 caused turnovers. She was also named to the America East All-Conference First Team, and she earned All-Academic Team Honors.

This season, Downey is on track to have a similar performance. She leads the team with 15 caused turnovers and in addition is tied for the lead, with senior midfielder Rachel Collins, in the ground ball category with 22. Downey is also a two-time America East Defensive Player of the Week this season.

Downey has dominated through this three-game winning streak, tallying up 11 ground balls, eight draw controls and six caused turnovers.  She has also scored a goal in each of the Terriers’ past two wins. In BU’s 13-9 win over UMBC on Saturday, Downey had a game-high four ground balls and three caused turnovers. She led the defense in that game as the Terriers shut down UMBC’s offense in the second half, holding the Retrievers without a goal for over 10 minutes.

“I think we are getting more confidence playing…confidence winning on a consistent level,” Robertshaw said.

This confidence she sees is coming in part from players such as Downey stepping up with steadily strong performances. When seniors play with confidence and skill, it inspires the younger players around them to do the same, and the Terriers starting 12 is made up of seven non-seniors.

In particular, when midfielders and defenders have great defensive games like Downey has had in the past three games, it limits the shots freshman goalkeeper Christina Sheridan must face, and gives her the confidence to settle in and make those crucial saves when she does face shots.

In this past game, for example, the defense came up big for BU, and as a result Sheridan only faced 14 shots and made 4 saves during the game.

Looking ahead, the Terriers travel to New Hampshire on Wednesday to take on University of New Hampshire in another conference game. UNH is coming off two close losses against UMBC and Harvard University. Both games were decided by just two goals.

After scoring 34 goals over the past three games, UNH will look to end its losing streak against BU. Downey will need to continue her superb defensive performance and rally those around her to do the same in order for BU’s shutdown defense to continue its domination. BU can establish a big lead in the conference this Wednesday with a win that would give them a 3-0 record in America East play.