Entering what is likely the most anticipated season in Boston University women’s lacrosse history, there were two major questions surrounding the team:

1. Would the Terriers be able to improve upon the stellar 18-2 mark and go undefeated in 2006?

2. Who would step up for graduated All-American senior goalkeeper, Anne Sheridan?

Both of those questions were answered on the Terriers’ southern Spring Break trip, where they faced the College of William ‘ Mary and then-No. 3 University of North Carolina.

On March 5, the then-No. 9/8 Terriers (1-1), now ranked No. 10, dropped a 12-10 decision to unranked William ‘ Mary (2-0) at Albert-Daly Field.

Three different Tribe players tallied hat tricks (Collen Dalon, Kara Parker and Jamie Fitzgerald) as William ‘ Mary used the strength of a 6-0 run after BU jumped out to a two-goal lead, to down the Terriers.

“They weren’t really a hard team,” said BU coach Liza Kelly, “but there was a lot of aggression and they certainly came out ready to play.”

And BU didn’t.

“I think the team just came out very flat for that game,” Kelly said. “I don’t think they were excited to be there and I thought they were just unprepared.”

Part of the reason the Terriers may have came out so flat against the Tribe was the fact that a flu bug infected the team on its southern tour.

“We had the flu and that spread throughout the team, so the trip wasn’t as pleasant as we had hoped,” Kelly said.

In addition, star sophomore attacker Jenny Hauser was only able to contribute one assist toward the losing effort.

“Jenny didn’t play a lot against William ‘ Mary because she had a flu for most of the week, so she didn’t see a lot of playing time,” Kelly said.

Freshman midfielder Sarah Dalton stepped up and led the team with a four-goal performance. Senior defenseman Lindsay Lewis and sophomore Lauren Morton each tallied two goals, while senior defenseman Mary Beth Miller recorded two assists. That wasn’t enough however, as the Tribe dominated the game and outshot BU, 34-25.

“It’s close to impossible to win when you get outshot,” Kelly said. “I don’t think we got the ball to attackers like we wanted and were unable to really pressure them.”

While the William ‘ Mary game provided a plethora of headaches for Terrier players and coaches, their next contest on the 11th was one for the ages.

Following in the footsteps of legendary sports stories involving the flu, BU (2-1) fought its individual aches and pains and defeated No. 4/3 University of North Carolina, 7-6.

But it wasn’t easy.

The Tar Heels (3-2, 1-1 ACC) scored two goals in the final 90 seconds to bring themselves within one goal of tying the Terriers, but sophomore goalie Jenna Golden made her 14th save of the afternoon as time wound down.

UNC scored the first goal of the game, but after Morton and Lewis put the ball in the back of the net, the Terriers never trailed again.

“I think we really could have won that game, 7-4, and I think that defensively, we’ve been playing very solid but we had some really stupid fouls, we gave opportunities to come back and score,” Kelly said. “They actually scored two goals with an open net at the end of he game, so they really only scored two goals on Jenna in the second half.”

Hauser was seemingly back to her usual self as she scored twice. Lewis also scored twice and Molly Collins and Caryn Lean scored the Terriers’ other goals. The Tar Heels were led by Christina Juras, who had two goals and an assist.

The real story of the game, however, was the play of Golden.

“I think Jenna had a great game at both William ‘ Mary and UNC,” Kelly said. “It definitely hurts us a little bit to let teams back in, but [Golden] stepped up and played great.”

Golden was recently named the America East Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts against the Tar Heels. It seems as though she has had no problems adjusting to playing every day and is more than comfortable filling the void left by Sheridan.

“I think she’s playing with a lot of confidence, and any time you can win an accolade like that it really helps,” Kelly said.

And while the Terriers won’t go undefeated, they are certainly not expecting to be unprepared or lethargic for a game again, as they continue their march toward the national championship.