After winning the Husky/Nike Invitational and acquiring a measure of national recognition along the way, the No. 20 Boston University women’s soccer team received a harsh welcome back to the East Coast from New England rivals the University of Connecticut and the University of Massachusetts this weekend, as the Terriers lost their first two games of the season.
The Terriers (5-2-1) kicked off what would turn into a disappointing weekend Friday night in a hard-fought match against the Huskies (3-3), a game that would ultimately end in a 3-0 UConn win.
“We played hard and pretty well,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “We created a couple of chances and they got a few too. It was kind of back and forth.”
Despite UConn outshooting the Terriers 5-1 in the first few minutes of the game, the first half passed by with relatively even play and without either team scoring.
Then in the second half, UConn took the lead on a goal by senior Danielle Schulmann from 12 yards out in the 53rd minute that Feldman thought sophomore goalkeeper Kelly King could have handled.
“They scored on a through ball that our keeper had a chance to get a hold of but it came through a little bit and they were able to put it into the back of the net,” Feldman said.
UConn tallied two more insurance goals before completing the shutout. During the 76th minute of play, Husky sophomore Devin Prendergast scored on a rebound from a corner kick. Then in the final minute of play, senior Jessica Shufelt scored on a breakaway to account for the final score of 3-0.
The was the first loss of the season for the Terriers.
“I think we put pressure on them and played pretty well,” Feldman said. “[UConn] looked a little bit hungrier and wanted the game more than we did. They just had that little bit extra and we looked fatigued.
“We didn’t look like we had the same level of compete [sic] as they did – not that ours was poor. Theirs was just better.”
On Sunday, the Terriers faced off against another rival in UMass. Despite outshooting the Minutewomen 22-3, BU was unable to find the back of the net and was consequently shutout for the second-straight game.
According to Feldman, one of the team’s biggest problems was that BU’s shots were not finding the frame.
“We had a lot of shots, but we only hit the frame 35 percent of the time,” Feldman said. “Our accuracy in the final moment to keep it on the frame wasn’t there. We tried to fight through it but it wasn’t a consistent team effort.
“When we’ve been successful we’ve played really well as a unit and we didn’t quite have that rhythm or tempo going for us. We looked like we weren’t in unison.”
The Minutewomen scored in the 22nd minute of play when UMass sophomore Grace Coombs chipped the ball over BU senior goalkeeper Alice Binns for the game-winner. The goal was Coombs’ first of her career.
While the second stanza of the game should have been highlighted by BU’s defense – which held UMass without any shots – it was outshone by the 22 fouls called during the half. BU and UMass had nine and 13 fouls, respectively.
“There were a lot of fouls for both teams,” Feldman said. “I think that the refereeing was not the top quality that we’re used to. A lot of the fouls were things that in other games are let go.”
Some of BU’s fouls did, however, have to do with a lack of composure on the team’s part.
“We tried to do too much at one time because the pressure was on us,” Feldman said. “We need to be calm, confident and composed while being urgent and prepared. Today we did not demonstrate that.”
Feldman noted that the difference in playing on a turf field – like the team does at Nickerson Field — and playing on grass as they did this weekend could have been the cause for some of the team’s challenge.
“I think part of the reason why our tempo might have been disrupted was because the surface was very slow,” Feldman said. “But that’s something we knew coming in and I think we can do a better job adjusting.
“I think as a team we should do a better job making adjustments… To be successful you have to able to play away games in conditions that aren’t exactly perfect to what you’re used to and you have to adapt.”
The Terriers will look to bounce back this week as they host Harvard University at Nickerson Field at 7 p.m.
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