Alexandra Cooper impacts BU offense against Midshipmen

Glancing over the box score of the Boston University women’s soccer team’s 1-0 victory over the United States Naval Academy Saturday afternoon at Nickerson Field would reveal that most of the team’s usual suspects played a big role in the win.

Junior forward Jenna Fisher — the Terriers’ (5-3-1, 1-0 Patriot League) leading scorer — tallied the only goal of the match, while senior goalkeeper Alyssa Parisi recorded two saves en route to her first shutout on the season.

However, upon further examination, it was also one of BU’s more under-looked players that made her mark on the pitch against the Midshipmen (3-3-3, 0-1 Patriot League).

Despite only entering the game in the 28th minute, sophomore midfielder Alexandra Cooper made a huge impact on the BU attack, constantly harassing the Navy backfield throughout her almost 55 minutes of play.

During the game, Cooper accounted for a shot on goal in the 54th minute of play that was halted by Yale goalkeeper Dayton Wetherby, but Cooper’s efforts went way beyond her scoring opportunity.

Throughout the final 45 minutes of play, Cooper helped lead multiple advances into the Midshipmen’s portion of the field, giving the Terriers sustained opportunities to add to their lead.

“Alex Cooper had probably the best game of her career today,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “She’s making the most of her opportunity when she gets in. She’s training better, and she has spunk. She’s technical, she’s crafty, she’s quick, she’s dynamic. She’s learned how to defend and how to match up in physical moments.

“Now, we can put her on the field and let her do her things in attack that she does so well because she’s more stable, and she’s more in control, and she’s more experienced in the other parts of the game.”

While Cooper has appeared in eight of BU’s nine matches this season, consistent playing time has been hard to come by for the Newtown, Pennsylvania native. Despite never starting a game in her collegiate career so far, Cooper has already matched the number of game appearances from her freshman campaign in 2013, when she registered three shots — including one on goal — in eight games with the Terriers.

While Cooper may not be featured as one of the Terriers’ starting players, Feldman made it a point to say that Cooper’s current designation as a substitute is not a reflection on her play, but rather a reflection on the deep roster that the Terriers possess.

“It’s not just going out there and showing your skill. You have 11 people out there showing their skill,” Feldman said. “We have a pretty structured environment, if you haven’t figured it out. It’s ‘take care of your business, take care of your responsibilities, win your battles’ and on top of that, ‘How can you separate yourself on attack?’ and she certainly has some abilities to separate herself on attack.

“That’s even going to get better and better because there’s something that we left out there where, maybe if she gets it off her foot a little sooner, she can put some people in. I thought it was a heck of a game.”