Field Hockey, Sports

Field hockey generating multiple scoring opportunities

Sophomore midfielder Hester van der Laan has registered 27 shots on the season. PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS
Sophomore midfielder Hester van der Laan has registered 27 shots on the season. PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DAILY FREE PRESS

Over the past two games, the Boston University field hockey team has done an impressive job at generating offense, as the team outshot its opponents by 17 shots over the weekend. The first of these two games was a match against the College of the Holy Cross Friday at New Balance Field.

The Terriers (8-7, 3-1 Patriot League) put on an offensive clinic, registering 21 shots while limiting their opponents to just seven shots. Sophomore midfielder Hester van der Laan led all Terriers with a game-high six shots in the Terriers’ 4-0 route. Including van der Laan, 10 Terriers ended up with at least one shot on the stat sheet.

The second of these two games was a 2-1 overtime loss to the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Sunday. The Terriers still impressed on offense, as they tallied up 14 shots in total, with junior midfielder Sofi Laurito leading all Terriers with a game-high five shots. Although the Terriers came up short, they have been showing a strong surge in offense.

Patriot League Wins: On Friday, the Terriers will be traveling to Washington D.C. to take on American University in a Patriot League matchup. Both the Terriers and the Eagles (8-6, 3-1 Patriot League) have identical conference records and a nearly identical overall record.

For the Terriers, this game will stand as their fifth Patriot League match posting a 2-0 record at home and a 1-1 mark on the road. The Terriers’ last Patriot League road game came against Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania on Oct. 4. The Bison (9-4, 4-0 Patriot League), who are currently the only undefeated team in the conference, beat the Terriers by a score 5-2.

Overtime: The Terriers played their fifth overtime game on Sunday against the Minutewomen (8-8). So far this season, the Terriers have struggled in crunch time, posting a 1-4 record in overtime.

The team’s previous overtime game was a tilt against the University of Connecticut on Oct. 12. Ultimately, the Terriers came up short to the Huskies in a 2-1 loss. Within the overtime periods, the Terriers were outshot 4-1 while giving up the only penalty corner of the extra period. As a result, the match went into a shootout with the Huskies converting two of their four strokes to earn the win.

The Terriers’ latest overtime against UMass lasted just over 11 and a half minutes. The Terriers were once again outshot by their opponents with a tally of 3-1, and they also gave up the only penalty corner of the game. However, unlike the game against UConn, this corner turned out to be costly. UMass converted off the corner in the 82nd minute with a tip from senior defender Lauren Allymohamed. The shot sealed the victory for UMass and prevented the Terriers from going on a two-game winning streak.

BU coach Sally Starr was not available for comment for this article.

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Alexander mainly covers field hockey for the Daily Free Press. On his days off, he catches up on playing basketball and soccer and cheers on the New York Giants, Knicks, and Yankees. He previously interned at the office of U.S. Senator Edward Markey.

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