Coming off its second straight Patriot League championship win Saturday, the No. 16 Boston University field hockey team will focus its attention on Fairfield University in the Play-In Round of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday at New Balance Field.
The winner of this matchup will go on to face No. 2 University of North Carolina on Nov. 14 in the first round of the national tournament.
BU (14-6, 6-0 Patriot League) is riding its momentum off two close victories in the conference tournament, including a double-overtime thriller against Bucknell University and 2-1 win over American University. The Patriot League crown capped off an undefeated year for the Terriers in conference play.
BU coach Sally Starr said she expects her team to continue its strong play after their two tough matches.
“We have to compete for 70 minutes,” Starr said. “I compare it to surfing. You get knocked off one wave and you get on the next one. That’s what I love about this team, we stay in the moment and compete with a championship performance. As long as we focus on ourselves, we’ll be fine.”
Fairfield (9-9), on the other hand, was not as successful in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, posting a 3-3 record before winning out in the MAAC Tournament. Fairfield was the last team in its conference to make the tournament and beat the top two seeds on its way to its first-ever MAAC title. The Stags’ victims included No. 1 seed Monmouth University and No. 2 seed Quinnipiac University, avenging both their losses to the same two teams in the regular season.
BU and Fairfield are no strangers, as they used to face off once per year from 2005-12. The two were conference foes in the America East Conference from 2007- 13. BU has won the last eight matchups in the series.
One of the Stags’ strengths is their ball movement, having had three players, senior Kaitlyn Taddeo, senior Emily McCauley and freshman Ruth Smalbraak, finish in the top eight in their conference in assists.
However, the biggest key in stopping Fairfield is to contain its top goal-scorer and point-leader, forward Ann Burgoyne. Burgoyne led the MAAC in goals and points with 19 and 40, respectively.
Starr said she believes as long as her team plays its game, Fairfield’s offense will be limited.
“We just have to compete and play smart,” Starr said. “Get organized, limit their attack and have good pressure.”
BU will look to one of its leaders, senior co-captain Sofi Laurito, who has come up big for the Terriers the whole season. She notched a hat trick in the Patriot League semi-final against Bucknell (8-11, 3-3 Patriot League). Laurito leads the team in points with 31 and goals with 14.
This will be the Terriers’ 12th NCAA Tournament bid and second straight as they lost in the first round of last year’s tournament vs. a tough Syracuse University team. As for their opponents, Fairfield hasn’t been in the tournament for over a decade as this is its second national bid.
BU has home-field advantage for the last time this season, where it has been dominant, posting record of 7-3 this season and a 21-10 record over the past three years while housed at New Balance Field. The Terriers’ only three losses at home this year came against ranked opponents: then-No. 18 University of Massachusetts Amherst, then-No. 10 Boston College and then-No. 4 Duke University.
Fairfield will not shy away from the challenge. This season, it has performed better on the road than at home, with an away record of 7-3, including the two MAAC Tournament victories.
Starr noted that this will be a tough challenge for the Terriers.
“[Fairfield] is playing their best hockey right now,” Starr said. “They play with a lot of emotion and they’re very well coached and organized, so we have to be ready.”
