In its quest for a ninth America East Conference title, the No. 17 Boston University field hockey team made it halfway to the championship game with a 4-0 defeat over the No. 13 University of Maine on Friday, but was unable to seal the deal, falling 4-2 to the No. 10 University of New Hampshire on Sunday.
“I was disappointed and the girls were disappointed,” said head coach Sally Starr. “We played hard, but not smart.”
In the semifinal game against Maine (16-4, 4-2 America East), the Terriers (11-9, 4-1 America East) sent the Black Bears into hibernation with a 4-0 beating. Three different BU juniors scored to keep the Terriers alive.
Fullback Jacinda McLeod found the boards first, earning her eighth goal of the season just five minutes into the game on a corner feed from sophomore midfielder/forward Kat Spring and a stop by sophomore forward Ysi Schieb. McLeod drilled the ball in from Schieb’s stop, bringing the Terriers closer to their victory.
The Terriers earned their second tally on another corner four minutes into the second half. Spring inserted the ball once again to Schieb, but this time it was midfielder Nicole van Oosterom who scored the goal on a direct shot.
The New Zealander’s next score came five minutes before the end of regulation, unassisted and lifted out of the reach of Maine goalkeeper Brittany Fleck. It was van Oosterom’s sixth goal of the season.
Just more than a minute later, midfielder Macey Gaumond increased her team high in goals by scoring on a shot from the left that found its way past Fleck to the inside of the far post.
Freshman goalkeeper Valentina Cerda – who was named the America East Co-Rookie of the Year last week – earned her second shutout of the season, recording seven saves against the Black Bears. The team made an eighth save when junior fullback/midfielder Kiley Allosso stopped a shot by Maine fullback Annabelle Hamilton.
The Terriers and Black Bears kept it close in everything but the goal total, matching each other’s five penalty corners, with the Terriers only outdoing the Black Bears by one shot with 14.
“We played very well,” Starr said. “We were passing the ball well and defending and attacking with energy. It was a complete hockey game.”
As easy as the semifinal win seemed, the championship game was anything but – even before the first whistle.
Before BU set foot on the field for its championship match, the athletes and coaches were forced out of their beds in the wee hours of the morning when the fire alarm at their hotel went off, keeping them outside past 1 a.m., 12 hours before the start of the championship game.
“It is essential for athletes to perform at their best to get their best sleep before a competition,” Starr said, adding that many of the team members had trouble getting back to sleep after returning to their rooms.
The Wildcats (17-4, 4-1 America East) opened up scoring just two minutes after the opening horn on a goal from senior Hayley Rausch. After four penalty corners by UNH, the Terriers called a timeout.
“We needed to settle down and play our game,” Starr said.
After a quick regroup, the Terriers earned themselves a spot on the board with a goal from Gaumond, assisted by van Oosterom, giving Gaumond 10 on the season and tying the score at one. UNH broke the tie just five minutes later on a shot from sophomore Megan Bozek.
UNH kept the ball rolling with goal five minutes later by senior Kyle Lyons. Before the end of the first half, BU retaliated with a goal of its own from Schieb, her second of the season.
Going into halftime with a one-goal deficit, the Terriers came out with a new game plan.
“We changed our press, were more direct and were cutting up the passing lanes and our strikers were in good spots,” Starr said.
After earning three shots in the first half compared to the eight earned by the Wildcats, the Terriers upped their game and tied UNH with six shots in the second half of the competition. They also earned all five of their penalty corners in the second half, beating UNH, who only scored three in the last 35 minutes.
Unfortunately, the Terriers were unable to translate their increased efforts into points and the Wildcats used that to their advantage, scoring a final goal at the 52:44 mark. It was Rausch’s second of the game.
“UNH played well and attacked well,” Starr said. “We were up against a good team. We reacted against them. We were never in a groove and we were on our heels.”
BU racked up nine shots, reaching just over half the UNH total of 14. In penalty corners, the Terriers were outnumbered 10-5 by the Wildcats. Cerda made seven saves and allowed all four goals while UNH goalkeeper Katherine Nagengast made three saves, allowing both of BU’s goals.
“Everybody played well at times, but we were never together collectively,” Starr said. “It was what we were not doing rather than what UNH did to us.
“And the way the schedule played out, we got unlucky. But we were a good team and we worked hard and supported each other.”
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