The No. 14 Boston University field hockey team finally got it done in regulation, beating Kent State University 4-1 on Saturday at home. Prior to that, the Terriers’ three wins had all come in overtime, including a 1-0 victory over Providence College on Friday.
Junior midfielder Madeleine Hackett was BU’s (4-0) latest hero on Friday, scoring the game-winning goal 3:16 into the extra frame on a low shot to the left of Providence goalkeeper Deidra Clymer. Hackett is the only non-senior to record a goal for the Terriers so far this season.
“It’s over 30 years of coaching experience that I have, and I really feel when you have a strong senior class, it really is a very good thing for the success of the season,” said BU coach Sally Starr.
Through the first 35 scoreless minutes of the game, neither team managed a shot on goal, although BU attempted four to Providence’s two. The Friars (1-2) had their first shot on senior goalkeeper Jess Maroney 16 minutes into the second half.
Maroney played the second half and the overtime frame after sophomore Valentina Cerda Eimbcke started the game. Maroney made three saves in her 38:16 in net. At the other end of the pitch, Clymer made four saves.
After three straight games decided by one goal to open the season, the Terriers finally enjoyed a particularly decisive victory over Kent State in their home opener the next day.
“We’ve been able to play overtime and finish it in the first five minutes – all three overtimes were pretty quickly decided,” Starr said. “I was really glad Friday night didn’t go late because of the quick turnaround that we had Saturday against Kent … I’m pleased that we’ve shown a resiliency to be successful in overtime, but I’d be happy to not have any more overtimes this season.”
Against Kent State at Harvard University’s Jordan Field, BU’s “home” turf, Cerda Eimbcke and Maroney split time again, with Cerda Eimbcke making four saves in the first half and Maroney making five in the second to shut down the Golden Flashes.
Senior midfielder Nicole van Oosterom led off the scoring less than six minutes into the game for BU, carrying the ball into the circle herself and driving it past Kent State goalkeeper Jahna Jordan. The goal was van Oosterom’s first of her senior season after she recorded six goals and four assists for 16 points last year, ranking her third on the 2011 team.
Hackett then picked up her second goal of the weekend at 19:31, scoring unassisted after a restart. Prior to this weekend, Hackett had just one goal in her entire career at BU, which included 16 games (two starts) her sophomore year and 20 (with five starts) last year as a junior.
Senior midfielder Macey Gaumond, the Terriers’ leading scorer last year with 10 goals and 24 points, made it 3-0 with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. She tipped a ball from fellow senior midfielder Kiley Allosso into the net to take BU’s biggest lead of the year.
About four minutes into the second half, Kent State’s Rebecca Lee broke up the BU goalkeeping tandem’s shutout streak. Lee scored on a penalty corner, but she was the only Golden Flash player to find the back of the net, and Gaumond all but sealed the Terrier victory when she scored an unassisted goal with less than 10 minutes remaining.
The Terriers dominated the Golden Flashes in shots – leading 24-16 – and in penalty corners, leading 10-3. They have outshot opponents 66-38 on the year so far and are averaging 2.75 goals per game to opponents’ 1.25.
BU is expected to face its first nationally ranked opponent, local rival No. 17 Boston College, on Thursday in Chestnut Hill.
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