Hollenbaugh emerging as key freshman for women’s soccer team

Although the bulk of the Boston University women’s soccer starters are upperclassmen, a few freshmen have made their way onto the stat sheet in a significant way at this early point in the season.

McKenzie Hollenbaugh, a back from Glastonbury, Conn., is the lone freshman starter for the Terriers. Hollenbaugh has started in each of BU’s six games this season.

“McKenzie we knew would be a competitive player for the reason that she had been playing at a high level this past summer with older players — college-level players,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “We kind of had an idea that she had at least been in an environment like ours — had a taste of it.”

Midfielder Clare Pleuler and Forward Jenna Fisher have each played solid minutes off the bench in their first year as Terriers.

Pleuler has notched one goal so far this year, whereas Fisher has netted a pair on five shots. Fisher’s shot percentage of .400 presently leads the team. Both Pleuler and Fisher scored in the Terriers’ 2–2 draw with Harvard University.

“I’m very pleased with the contribution they’ve been making, and also their overall training mentality and their maturity,” Feldman said of her freshman players.

Finally getting the Green light

Junior goalkeeper Andrea Green has been a surprise key to the BU lineup so far this season. Green had only seen time in two games in both her freshman and sophomore campaigns with the Terriers. With originally projected starter junior Kelly King sidelined with a season-ending injury, Green has been given the nod in each of the first six games BU has played.

“Her first year was a big learning curve in her goalkeeping training,” Feldman said. “Last year was a bigger learning year for her physical training … she came back as a junior and she certainly had put herself in a position to play.”

The Terriers hold a record of 3–2–1 at the moment. Hidden within that record is a trifecta of shutouts that Green has earned. The Nashua, N.H., native has allowed seven goals and made 29 saves on the year, making her save percentage 80.6 percent.

Bench Boost

Five different Terriers have scored two goals so far this year, and only one of these players — junior midfielder Emma Clark — has started in each game. Scorers such as Brea Hewitt and Ana Cuffia have shown the ability to provide offense off the bench, as well as to get the job done with the starting rotation.

Feldman said that her current roster has forced her to undergo much deliberation as to who she puts on the pitch in several situations.

“I’ve spent a little bit of my time just continuing to see what people are capable of and how their strengths can help us,” Feldman said. “The other thing is we have more versatile players. Overall we are a little bit more athletic, we’re a little bit more mobile.”

Strong Schedule

BU’s more significant loss this year came to rival Boston College at the end of last month. BC is currently ranked No. 6 in the NSCAA Coaches poll.

This weekend, the Terriers travel to California where they will participate in the Stanford Nike Invitational. Queued up for BU is reigning NCAA champion No. 5 Stanford University, as well as Santa Clara University, which dropped out of the top 25 yesterday.

Feldman said the difficulty of the team’s schedule not only gives the players great experience, but also gives a boost to recruitment efforts.

“We really try to stretch ourselves and challenge ourselves and play the best,” Feldman said. “That certainly attracts great student-athletes, because great student-athletes want to be challenged and want to play against the best.”

BU was ranked No. 23 at the start of the season and has since dropped from the polls. However, no other America East team has been ranked as highly so far this year.

The difficult matchups that the Terriers endure prior to America East play should act as sufficient preparation for the conference.