After a season of undefeated conference play, the No. 16 Boston University women’s soccer team and the University of Hartford women’s soccer team have only one thing standing between them and the America East Conference regular season title – each other.
In a battle for not only America East recognition but for the perfect conference season, BU will aim to force the Hawks to take flight in what is conceivably the most important game of either team’s season.
“It means a lot to us, it means a lot to them,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “I think for us, we start the season with goals and one of our goals is to win an America East regular season championship and Sunday we are in a position to do that. That’s something we want, something we feel we are capable of and are going after.”
The Terriers (15-2-1, 7-0 America East), who were the unanimous preseason favorite in the America East coaches poll, come into Sunday’s game after defeating Dartmouth College Wednesday.
After a silent first half of play where BU outshot the Big Green 5-2, senior forward Tiya Gallegos notched her sixth goal of the season in the 80th minute to give the Terriers a permanent lead.
“I really felt we held them at bay, and that’s what you do in tight matches against quality opponents,” Feldman said. “I felt we kept our cool and stayed the course until we scored late in the game.”
Sophomore forward Madison Clemens tacked on to the Terriers’ lead less than five minutes later when she headed a cross that came from senior midfielder Jessica Luscinski into the net, accounting for BU’s 2-0 victory.
In net, sophomore goaltender Kelly King had one save in her fourth shut out of the season and the team’s 11th.
As the regular season comes to a close, Feldman reflected on how her team has changed over the course of the past few months.
“I think they’ve built a nice camaraderie and they support each other a lot on the field and off the field and that takes time and it doesn’t always happen,” Feldman said. “But I think they’ve all been very committed to that and making whatever sacrifices you have to make for the good of the group.”
Unlike the Terriers, the Hawks (13-0-3, 6-0-1) did not fare so well in the preseason polls as they were ranked to finish sixth out of the nine-team conference.
As Hartford proved, the preseason polls don’t account for anything during the actual season, as they have become one of the strongest teams in America East.
The Hawks have allowed only four goals so far this season, which tops the conference.
Thursday afternoon, Hartford took on the University at Albany in a game that secured them a first round bye in the America East Tournament.
After the Great Danes took the lead with a tally in the 40th minute of action, Hawk Amelia Pereira scored her seventh goal of the season in the 82nd minute to tie up the game.
After two overtimes, during which Albany outshot the Hawks 3-2, neither team scored leading to a 1-1 tie.
The last time these two teams met up, the Terriers were in the midst of their 1,260 minute and 38 second shutout streak.
BU defeated the Hawks 3-0 on three unassisted goals by Luscinski, Gallegos and then-senior Corie Halasz.
If the Terriers can once again defeat Hartford, they will earn their fifth-straight America East title and their ninth total overall.
“They were the team to beat in the early years that we entered the conference,” Feldman said. “We have done a great job the past couple of years of putting ourselves in a position to kind of win some conference regular seasons… we’ve had a good little run going.
“But they’re back. They have a strong history, a strong tradition of women’s soccer and this team they have year is for real.”
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