Field Hockey, Sports

Trip to heartland ends in split for field hockey

The Boston University field hockey team split its weekend of traveling with a win against Ball State University Friday and a loss to the University of Michigan Sunday.

AUDREY FAIN/DFP FILE PHOTO Field hockey stayed strong after its weekend series.

In their contest against Ball State Friday night, seven Terriers scored to complete an 8-0 shutout. Junior back Jacinda McLeod began the stream of goals with a shot from the top of the circle on a corner with assists from junior midfielder/fullback Nicole van Oosterom and senior midfielder/fullback Rachael White, both of whom scored goals of their own in the second half.

“We played well as a team,” BU coach Sally Starr said. “We should have dominated and we did dominate.”

The Terriers dominated defensively, as well as offensively, against the Cardinals, with goalkeepers senior Julie Collins and freshman Valentina Cerda sharing the 70 minutes. The BU defense did not allow a single shot by Ball State in the first half and allowed only one in the second half.

The Terriers came out on fire in the second half, scoring seven goals within a 23-minute period. Just 15 seconds into the half, senior forward Andrea Greene scored her second goal of the season unassisted, and two minutes later, van Oosterom notched her first goal of the season.

“There was more urgency. We were playing well, but we needed a purpose to score goals,” Starr said.

Just a few minutes after van Oosterom’s goal, speedy junior forward Leslie Zules connected with junior forward/midfielder Tabi Hatch on a shot from the center that flew into the goal beyond the reach of Cardinal goalkeeper Haley Fusting for the Terriers fourth goal of the game.

Junior midfielder Macey Guamond scored a pair of goals to add on to her team-leading six tallies on the season, with the goals coming just seconds apart from one another. At the 53:12 mark, Guamond received a pass from sophomore midfielder/fullback Kat Spring from outside the circle. The Terrier deflected the ball into the goal for part one of her second two-goal game of the season. The second goal came in at 53:41 and occurred on an unassisted shot from deep inside the circle.

With a score of 6-0, the Terriers more than sealed the deal by adding two more goals in the last 20 minutes of regulation. First, White tipped in a goal on a pass from van Oosterom, bringing the score to 7-0. Three minutes later redshirt freshman midfielder/fullback Anne Fruitema scored on a shot from the center of the goal.

The Terriers outshot the Cardinals 25-1 and held the advantage in penalty corners 9-0. Ball State made seven saves against the Terriers in their loss.

On Sunday, BU took on the Big Ten Conference with a game against No. 14 Michigan on the Wolverines’ home field.

“Michigan was a brand new game — they were a totally different caliber opponent, similar to [Boston College],” Starr said. “Every ball was contested.”

The Wolverines bit first with a goal in the first half by sophomore forward Michelle Roberts, but BU struck back in the 19th minute with a goal from Greene that flew through the air and into the left side of the goal, out of the reach of Michigan goalkeeper Christi Barwick. Spring assisted on the play.

Ten minutes before the end of the first half, Michigan struck again and broke the tie with a shot from the right post by freshman midfielder Axelle Wouters that passed by Cerda, who made a career-best eight saves on the game.

“They were all over us at the beginning of the game, but by the end of the first half, we were playing good hockey,” Starr said. “The second half was more even. We had more midfield, hard play.”

Wouters scored again in the 38th minute on a shot from the right side that found its way to the left side backboard after passing by Cerda to account for the final score of 3-1.

Junior midfielder and fullback Kiley Allosso recorded a defensive save for the Terriers.

“It was not a great game for either team,” Starr said.

The Terriers were outshot 15-7, but only beaten by two penalty corners with four compared to the Wolverines’ six.

“In mid-September, I would rather be stinging and humbled and working to get better,” Starr said. “It’s the time of year to get better and come to work.”

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