The Boston University women’s lacrosse team will travel to face Loyola University Maryland on Saturday.
The Terriers (6-6, 4-2 Patriot League) fell to Colgate University on Wednesday and are looking for a win to move up in the conference standings. However, Loyola (10-4, 6-0 Patriot League) is not only undefeated in conference play, but also on a nine-game win streak.
BU is fourth in the conference standings, and Loyola is first. Including Loyola, the Terriers only face two more Patriot League opponents before the close of the season.
The Greyhounds have been very successful so far in 2015, defeating their last nine opponents and scoring 10 or more goals in each of those matches.
The Greyhounds are second in the league in goals with 177 this season, averaging 12.64 a game. They are also second in the league with 267 points, only one behind the league-leading United States Naval Academy.
Loyola has multiple powerful offensive players. Senior Annie Thomas leads the Greyhounds with 24 goals and 36 assists. Senior Hannah Schmitt has netted 39 goals for Loyola this season, followed by senior Kara Burke with 35.
Thomas scored two goals and tallied five assists in the past two games, and had four goals in the match before that.
Additionally, Loyola averages 9.43 turnovers a game, the lowest average in the league.
The Terriers are not unarmed, though, and they have fought hard this season, proving that although they struggle some games, in the next one, they are the dominant force.
While redshirt junior attack Mallory Collins has not scored as much as Thomas, she is just as much a leader of the Terriers as Thomas is for the Greyhounds. Collins leads her team with 29 goals this season, tallying a marker in all but one contest.
She does not carry the weight of her team on her shoulders, though. Junior midfielder Ally Adams found the back of the net 22 times this season, and junior defender Remy Nolan has netted 12 goals.
Freshman attack Avery Donahoe, sophomore attack Taylor Hardison and freshman midfielder Sarah Anderson, along with Adams, Nolan and Collins, have all had game-winning goals this year. Every Terrier has proven they will battle it out until the end.
The Terriers are averaging 9.17 goals and 22.42 shots a game, both fewer than Loyola. However, BU has its own strengths.
Junior midfielder Jill Horka has helped the Terriers excel in draw controls and, in addition, have a .452 free position shot percentage. Collins leads the league, making .75 free position goals a game.
Sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Meegan has performed consistently well in cage all season. Meegan is five saves away from 100 on the year. She has a .459 save percentage, which is third in the league.
