Undefeated field hockey prepares for battle with No. 17 BC

After winning its first four games of the season, the No. 12 Boston University field hockey team will face likely its strongest test yet against No. 17 Boston College on Friday in Newton.

The Terriers (4–0) moved up two spots in the new national rankings released on Sept. 4, but they have yet to play a ranked opponent. BC (3–1) opened the year with a 1–0 win over No. 20 Michigan State University and then beat No. 25 University of Maine 4–1 before losing its home opener to No. 19 University of Massachusetts, 2–1.

Although the Eagles’ and Terriers’ scores and records look similar so far, BU has been playing against lesser competition. One of the toughest runs of its season starts now: two days after playing BC, BU will face No. 2 Syracuse University and then UMass and No. 6 University of Virginia over the next two weeks.

“We’re in a situation because of the change in conference where we really have to compete this season for an at-large bid,” said BU coach Sally Starr. “So what that means is we need to get good wins and make sure we don’t have any bad losses. BC would be perceived as a good win for us.”

Because BU is moving to the Patriot League next year and is barred from competing in America East conference playoffs this year, the team can’t earn the automatic America East bid in the NCAA tournament, even if it beats every team in the conference. They will have to get past teams such as the Eagles just to earn a first-round spot this way.

Last year, BU lost a 1–0 heartbreaker to the Eagles on Sept. 9. BC’s only goal of the game came just 1:39 into the first half, but the Terriers could not come back.

Both teams have spent time on the road already, each playing three of their four games outside of Boston so far. As the slate gets more demanding, it will be up to BU’s strong senior class to lead an otherwise young team.

“We’re actually playing more freshmen than we normally play … but definitely, we have strength across the board. Strength across our forwards, strength at our middle line and strength at our backline and goalkeeping,” Starr said. “And [the seniors’] experience also leads to excellent leadership on the field.”

So far, only one junior, Madeleine Hackett, has scored a goal for the Terriers. All of the rest of the offense has come from seniors, with back Jacinda McLeod leading the way with four goals.

Of the underclassmen, the one standing out the most so far is sophomore goalkeeper Valentina Cerda Eimbcke, who was recognized as the America East Defensive Player of the Week this week.

Cerda Eimbcke is competing with senior Jess Maroney for starting time in the cage, and she was up to the challenge last week, posting shutout halves against Providence College and Kent State University in BU’s wins over the weekend.

For the Eagles, junior forward Virgynia Muma has led the way offensively, posting three goals on seven shots so far. In four games, not including the preseason, they’ve given up just three goals, one being UMass’s overtime winner.

In the cage, freshman goalie Leah Settipane is already on her way to a breakout year, leading the ACC in save percentage (.857) and goals-against average (0.75). She’ll pose a formidable challenge for BU’s offense, which has outshot opponents 66–38 for more than four games.

“It will be a very competitive match,” Starr said. “They are well coached, they have very skilled players, they have team speed … it would be a real quality win for us as we are pursuing an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament.”