With about two minutes left in yesterday’s Boston University women’s lacrosse game against No. 3 Georgetown University, a WTBU radio announcer said something to the effect of, “The Terriers would sure be content if they were able to score here,” after which various members of the press box laughed at his choice of words.
And rightfully so, because when senior attacker Mary Beth Miller beat Hoya goalkeeper Maggie Koch on a wraparound shot with only 0:02 left on the clock to up the score to 9-8, elation seemed more like it.
After 59 minutes and 58 seconds of back-and-forth lacrosse that featured four lead changes and six ties between two of the nation’s top teams, Miller completed the No. 13/15 BU (8-3, 1-1 America East) comeback, notched the team’s second major upset over a nationally third-ranked team this season and extended the Terriers’ winning streak at Nickerson Field to 19 games — all with one shot.
That shot would have never meant so many things, however, if sophomore Jenny Hauser didn’t tie the game at 8-8 on her fourth goal of the contest with 3:50 left.
“Coaches always want you to think deep. They expect you to never give up,” Hauser said. “They have all those expectations for us, but on the attack we also just felt that [we needed to] shove it down their throats. Just keep going and don’t even let them have a breather, because they were starting to come out and pressure us, but instead of letting that affect how we play, just pressure them back and put it in the back of the net.”
And finding the back of the net has never really felt this good for any of the Terriers up to this point in the season.
“I’m really happy, obviously, that we won,” said BU coach Liza Kelly. “I think it was a huge win for the program and for the team and I think that it’s a confidence booster for them so that they can see how good they really are.”
It was a sentiment that seemed to be contagious after the big win.
“I’m so happy. I definitely knew we could do it,” Hauser said. “When we come pumped up for these games, I think we can compete with anybody, but I’m just so glad we got that, I’m just so happy.”
What made this victory so sweet is that practically none of the players or coaches had ever seen lacrosse’s own version of a buzzer-beater in their respective careers.
“Never when it was that close, with five seconds. I’ve never seen that before in my life,” Hauser said. “I’ve seen it in basketball or maybe football or something, but I haven’t seen it in lacrosse yet, so I’m giving [Mary Beth Miller] so much love right now.”
Kelly agreed.
“We’ve had some close ones before. When these guys beat Maryland last week they scored with 16 seconds left, but nothing that really seemed to be at the buzzer,” Kelly said.
The last-second victory was both a streak breaker and preserver, as No. 3/5 Georgetown (8-2, 2-0 Big East) saw its four-game winning streak snapped, while the Terriers have not lost in their last 19 tries on Nickerson.
“That feels so good. We always say before every game, ‘Whose house is this? This is our house,'” Hauser said. “And we definitely want to protect this field and we want to win out on it all the way to the national championship — and go undefeated.”
Maybe part of the reason why BU was able to shock the Hoyas at home was because it became the only team thus far to score first against Georgetown. The Terriers peppered Koch with 36 shots and made it hard for her to feel comfortable in the cage, despite her nation-best 6.41 goals-against average in nine games this season.
“I think that we clearly outshot them and I felt like we were doing a really good job of taking shots, getting the ball back and getting more opportunities,” Kelly said. “I think that’s hard for a goalie to face.”
In addition to figuring out Koch, the Terriers had to deal with standout sophomore Coco Stanwick (3 goals, 1 assist) and Lucy Poole (3 shots).
“I think that was one of our keys is that both Coco and No. 7 Lucy Poole are kinda hands down their leading scorers, and we kinda said if we could limit those guys to a total of six goals between them, you’re doing your job,” Kelly said.
Cue sophomore goalkeeper Jenna Golden, who made seven saves on 23 Georgetown shots, only allowing eight goals to keep the Terriers close throughout.
“They definitely stepped up,” Miller said of Golden and the defense. “Jenna had some saves that I’ve never even seen a goalie make before, she was diving out of nowhere. And they came up with some great caused turnovers, running behind the cage and whatnot.”
Smart, aggressive defense and lots of energy are what propelled BU to its other victory over a third-ranked team — a 7-6 win over the University of North Carolina on March 11.
“UNC was at the beginning of the season so we knew that we’re a great team and that we could get up there and get pumped up and do it,” Hauser said. “And after those losses, I think it’s nice to have this win just to get our heads back up and stay on top. I think it shows everyone how good we can be. It’s a booster, because I think if anyone had doubts or anything like that, this can fix those. This can definitely fix those.”
The Terriers trailed, 4-1, early on but came back to tie the score when Hauser deposited a pass from Miller in the back of the net with 0:21 left in the first half. After Georgetown scored to start the second frame, the teams traded goals until the eventual game-winner.
BU won the battle for ground balls, 16-12, while Georgetown claimed 10 draw controls to BU’s nine. With the win, BU now holds a 2-0 all-time series advantage over the Hoyas.
“Liza told us [about them] coming into this game, so we knew they were gonna be difficult, but she told us the first team to get to 10 is gonna win,” Miller said. “We knew that we had to put a lot of goals into the back of the cage and take a lot of shots.”
And while BU didn’t quite manage 10, nine was certainly good enough, leaving this group of Terriers anything but content.