For Boston University field hockey coach Sally Starr, this past offseason has been livened by the chance to lead the No. 14 Terriers to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.

This year, however, the cast of faces that earned the right to play through last November will be short a few of the staple players who brought national attention to BU field hockey over the past couple of years.

But for a team that welcomes nine freshmen, maturity and leadership will be far from absent.

With the graduation of senior tri-captains Hayley Hamada, Sarah Hudak and Pam Spuehler, BU is fastened by 16 underclassmen, nine of whom are freshmen.

Among those joining the club this year is midfielder Sheena Berry, who comes to BU from Edinburgh University to pursue her graduate degree.

A member of Scotland’s U-18 and U-21 national teams, Berry captained the 2008 Scotland Universities team last year before enrolling at BU.

“We have a couple girls that will fill in who are not freshman,” Starr said. “Sheena Berry is coming in to work on her graduate degree, so the experience is going to make a significant difference.”

Paired with Berry in the midfield, junior Nikki Lloyd made her move to BU last year from Virginia Commonwealth University.

The leading scorer for the Rams in the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Lloyd will share responsibility for the voids left by three-time All-American midfielder Spuehler and forward Sarah Shute.

Spuehler, who started every game for the Terriers over the past two years, closed out her career in scarlet and white with a conference-best 37 points last season, while Shute led BU with 15 goals.

Now a member of the Terriers’ coaching staff, Spuehler led all Terrier scorers with 15 assists while working closely with Shute on the offensive end.

“We aren’t trying to fill the spots with inexperience,” Starr said. “We still have a lot of learning to do, but we are working with mature players that are capable of leading the team.”

Leading the way

This year’s captains are senior backs Lizzie Perreault and Holly Wiles and senior forward Hayly Ross.

Wiles, who was named to the America East All-Conference Second Team for the third straight year last season, leads a Terrier defense that allowed a conference-low 29 goals in 2007.

“The big thing for the girls this year is to understand that everything is a work in progress,” Starr said. “We can be very good, but a lot of hard work has to go into that. We have the right leadership with [Perreault, Wiles and Ross].”

In the Terriers’ first game of the season, Ross and Lloyd anchored the offense with a goal and an assist, respectively, as the Terriers knocked off Northwestern University last Sunday, 3-0.

Embarking on a season that will hinge on how well the Terriers work and communicate with each other, Starr understands that BU’s successes will surface every step of the way.

“For us, it’s a matter of taking everything one step at a time,” Starr said. “We need to focus every day, every practice and every game. It’s a work in progress, and the girls know that.”