The Boston University women’s soccer team hopes to earn its first win on the road over the weekend as it travels to Virginia to take on James Madison University and Virginia Tech.
The Terriers (0-6) are just three games away from Patriot League conference play next week, so securing a victory would be critical toward gaining momentum heading into this stretch of the season. BU turned the tides on last season’s rocky start, when it was unable to win its first contest until the seventh match of the season.
First, the Terriers will battle James Madison (1-5) on Friday in Blacksburg, Virginia. As their record shows, the Dukes have had similar struggles to BU in the early going. The Terriers are hoping to take advantage of the young team’s shortcomings.
A majority of the James Madison players are underclassmen, including sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Miller. Miller has started every game for the Dukes, having faced 78 shots and allowed 16 goals, giving her a .600 save percentage.
Two underclassmen forwards are already making themselves known as goal-scoring threats for the Dukes. Freshman Haley Crawford and sophomore Christine Tack have both netted two so far this season.
Senior Ashley Herndon leads the Dukes in points with seven, and BU head coach Nancy Feldman noticed how potent Herndon is on the offensive end.
“She’s a very good player, but soccer is a team game,” Feldman said. “We have to know where she is at all times on the field, but it’s going to be up to our midfield to limit her time and space on the ball, and certainly deny her long-range shots which she’s very, very good at.”
Herndon, a native of Ashburn, Virginia, has two goals and three assists through her team’s first six games. She has also put up 22 shots, nine of which were on goal. The Terrier defense will work hard to limit her opportunities on Friday.
“We need our back line to stop her penetration on the dribble,” Feldman said. “She’s pretty good at putting the ball through the defense to teammates if you’re not recovering well, so she definitely poses a challenge, but we’re up for it.”
Just two days later on Sunday, BU will return to the field to face the Hokies (5-1). Following an impressive 2015 campaign during which it made the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Virginia Tech is proving to once again be one of the best teams in the country. They’ve outscored their opponents 13-5 through the first six games.
The Hokies have two major goal-scoring threats in senior Murielle Tiernan and junior Alani Johnson, who each have four goals thus far.
In both contests, the Terriers need to step up their game offensively. They’ve only mustered two goals throughout the first six games this season. Additionally, BU is averaging only 10.5 shots per game, while its opponents are putting up 14.8.
Last year as a freshman, striker McKenna Doyle led the team with six goals. She has one of the Terriers’ two thus far, but is expected to be a consistent goal contributor moving forward. Senior forward Erica Kosienski, another offensive leader for last year’s team, will also be heavily relied on.
In net, junior Hannah Ciolek has logged four starts this year, facing 63 shots. The Wilmington, Delaware native averages 2.25 goals against, while her counterpart, senior Bridget Conway, has started twice and averages 1.50 goals against.
Despite playing two of its last three games in front of its home crowd, BU will be facing a tough challenge this weekend with both contests away from Nickerson Field, but Feldman noted that each game holds the same weight, regardless of where it is played.
“You need to win games on the road, and you need to win games at home,” Feldman said. “We certainly love playing on Nickerson Field and we feel that we play a great brand of soccer there, but we also feel like in order for us to achieve our goals we have to bring our home game to away venues … It’s certainly a concentration and a focus for us to prepare ourselves the same exact way and bring the same attitude, mentality and passion wherever we play a soccer game.”
