Feldman reaches milestone as Terriers cap weekend sweep

On an overcast evening at Nickerson Field, Nancy Feldman, head coach of the Boston University women’s soccer team for the past 17 seasons, notched another milestone in her coaching career.

With her squad’s 3-0 victory over Loyola University Maryland, Feldman earned her 300th win as a head coach, making her the 20th winningest head coach in NCAA women’s soccer history, and the 19th amongst Division I active head coaches by percentage.

The win finished off an exhausting and entertaining weekend for the Terriers, who played two games in less than 24 hours on Friday and Saturday. According to Coach Feldman, that’s a rarity — for a reason.

“You don’t do it — you can’t get your body back [that quickly],” she said after Saturday’s contest.

But that doesn’t mean it was bad thing for the Terriers. Feldman admitted it was a “real good test” and a “different challenge.” The fact that the team was able to walk away victorious in both games certainly helped to make the experience more enjoyable.

With Friday’s 3-2 win against Illinois State University and Saturday’s shutout over Loyola, BU improved to 3-0-1 on the year, its best start in seven years.

The weekend wasn’t without its scares, however.

On Friday night versus Illinois State, BU held the lead, thanks to goals from seniors Krista Minto and Jessica Luscinski as well as freshman Taylor Krebs, from the end of the first half up until the final nine minutes of the game.

But when the Redbirds’ freshman forward Rachel Tejada scored twice in less than five minutes to bring the difference down to just one goal as the game ended, BU was given a run for its money.

“We lost our edge, for top to bottom. From the coaching staff to the bench to the players on the field,” Feldman said on Saturday, “Our mental focus was not sharp.”

Ultimately, though, the coach thought it was, “not something we can be ashamed of, but learn from and move forward.”

Saturday’s game was a completely different story, as it was originally pushed forward from its scheduled date on Sunday because of Hurricane Irene, and then kicked off 45 minutes late after lighting was spotted in the area. Once the game began, however, the Terriers dominated, outshooting the Greyhounds by a margin of 30-3.

Freshman forward Taylor Krebs scored the first goal in the 24th minute, followed by goals from senior midfielder Jessica Luscinski at in the 68th minute and junior midfielder Brea Hewitt in the 83rd minute.

Luscinski goal extended her streak to four games, meaning she has scored in all of the Terriers matches so far this season. Feldman called her a “special player” and “an important part of the puzzle.”

BU will next play on Friday against the University of Washington in Seattle as part of the Husky/Nike Invitational.