In its last game against University of Massachusetts, the No. 14 Boston University field hockey team defeated its opponents 3-2 in overtime.
In the first of two away games this weekend, the Terriers hope that history finds a way to repeat that September 2009 victory as the team travels to western Massachusetts
Last weekend’s games yielded mixed results for the Terriers with a pair of games in the Midwest.
On Friday they defeated Ball State University 8-0, out shooting their opponents 25-1, as goalies Valentina Cerda and Julie Collins combined for the shutout. Sunday’s game against the University of Michigan proved to be a disappointment for the team as it was defeated 3-1 and out-shot 15-7.
These mixed results have made the team “more determined than ever,” according to BU coach Sally Starr, and the loss against Michigan showed the team the “things they needed to work to achieve goals.” According to Starr, in this week’s practices the team has been focused on “team play” and “getting good numbers off the attacking end.”
She said that, despite the rain, the team had a very successful practice Tuesday morning.
In regards to the team’s strategy for this weekend’s games, Starr said the team was focused on the repeated mantra of being “desperate to score.”
Despite this frustrating loss to Michigan, freshman goalkeeper Valentina Cerda recorded a career best eight saves and was named America East Rookie of the Week after BU’s 1-0 loss to Boston College two weeks ago.
Starr said the team will look to make several improvements, among them “will be trying to execute under pressure,” adding that the team will “need to be a little bit better with the ball, [and] without the ball.”
In its last game, UMass (2-5) suffered a 4-1 loss at the hands of No. 3 University of Maryland with its only goal coming at the hands of midfielder/forward Kate Heineman. UMass goalkeeper Alesha Widdal recorded 11 saves, adding to her season total of 50 saves in 96 shots faced.
Like the Terriers, the Minutewomen have suffered a loss to Boston College and Starr hopes that the team can “[handle] being out under pressure more” and “play a more aggressive style of defense.”
Starr also said that against UMass, a regular BU opponent, that the team will “have to be ready to compete for 70 minutes” because it is “always a very, very tough game.”
On Sunday, the Terriers will face No. 5 Syracuse University (5-2), which just defeated Princeton University and Rutgers University by a combined score of 10-1 this past weekend.
Sunday’s 5-0 victory against Princeton marked Syracuse’s 19th straight home victory and goaltender Leann Stiver’s third shutout of the season.
Forwards Kelsey Millman and Heather Susek lead Syracuse with 4 goals apiece, while Millman and fellow junior Amy Kee were both named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll, and will likely be the players the Terriers will look to shut down.
When speaking about the Terriers’ game against Syracuse, Starr cited other losses against ranked teams, most particularly against Michigan.
Saying that her team was “going in there to win,” she said the team needed to “play smart and play hard” in order to pull off a victory.
Starr thinks that Sunday’s game against Syracuse will “be a great test” but the team is focused on “getting ready for UMass on Friday, then [they’ll] get ready for Syracuse.”
Optimistic about the team’s chances in their upcoming away games, Starr sees this juncture of the season as being particularly critical as she described at as the point of the season “where things start coming together for us.”
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