With the regular season nearing its conclusion, the Boston University lacrosse team won a crucial game at Stony Brook University, 12-3, in very hostile weather.
The BU (7-8, 3-2 AE) defense held the Seawolves (4-10, 1-5 AE) to their lowest single-game goal total of the season on Saturday. A big part of that defense was the play of freshman goalkeeper Christina Sheridan, who made six saves in the game.
“She saw the ball very well,” BU coach Liz Robertshaw said. “I was really happy with her performance. She made some point-blank saves, and that is something I am going to need from her against [University of] Vermont.”
Along with Sheridan’s great game, the team defense played a big role in the Seawolves’ low goal total. Stony Brook was held to just three shots in the first half and 10 shots for the entire game.
“I thought our defense really played a great game plan,” Robertshaw said. “They did a great job of really trusting each other, and having success with those early double teams.”
On the offensive end, the Terriers’ scoring was well spread out through their attacks, with multi-goal games from junior Molly Swain, sophomore Danielle Etrasco and freshman Elizabeth Morse, as well as two goals from senior midfielder Rachel Collins.
“Having that many people score multiple goals was really big for us,” Robertshaw said. “People stepped up, and I was really excited about that.”
Four of the Terriers’ 12 goals came from free-position shots, which was a big part of their offense in less-than-ideal weather conditions. The team converted on four of its seven free-position shots, capitalizing on the majority of the free chances it earned.
“The fact that we could put the ball away against the good goaltender that Stony Brook has, especially on the free position line where we haven’t exactly been converting recently, I think that is really huge for us,” Robertshaw said.
The Terriers took control of the game early on, scoring the first three goals and finishing the first half ahead, 7-1. In a game that featured rain coming down sideways throughout, capitalizing early was important to help secure the win.
“I told the girls going into the game it was not going to be a pretty game,” Robertshaw said. “It was going to be the team most willing to get dirty who won this game, and that’s something that I thought our team did really well.”
With the win, BU snapped its four-game losing streak, which dated back to April 6. The Terriers lost two crucial conference games during that stretch, and struggled to keep the opposition from having its way offensively.
“There were more smiles after this game than there have been in the past couple weeks,” Robertshaw said. “I’m excited by that and I think it’s going to give the girls a lot more confidence going into this really important Vermont game.”
BU will face Vermont on Saturday in its season finale in Burlington, Vt. If the Terriers win this game, they clinch a playoff spot. However, due to Vermont’s recent upset victory over University of New Hampshire, a loss would put them in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot, and head-to-head records would determine which team would grab the fourth seed.
In that event, the Terriers would need a loss by the Wildcats (7-7, 2-3 AE) to make the postseason because they lost to UNH back on April 6.
“It’s a huge game. If we want to make it to the tournament we control our own fate in this game,” Robertshaw said. “We want to go and play fast this weekend, and we need to be able to step up and take on the challenge.”
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