The Terrier youth made a strong statement on Nickerson Field this weekend when the Boston University women’s soccer team hosted the annual Terrier Invitational. Though the Terriers managed a split in the tournament, they earned a huge boost of confidence after strong performances from a few standout freshmen.
Terrier rookie Angelina Cords anchored the defense all weekend, breaking up offensive chances and smoothly transitioning the squad to the offensive end. Cords showed off tough defensive play, breaking up opponents’ routes in both games against the Stanford Cardinal and Princeton Tigers. She also came very close to notching some assists in Friday night’s tilt against Stanford, but the Terriers couldn’t finish the scoring opportunities.
But on Sunday afternoon against Princeton, the freshman from Maryland made a crisp pass up the field to sophomore Emily Pallotta that resulted in the first Terrier goal of the season.
“[Angelina] has got a very special quality because she can deliver service,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “The kid’s got a leg on her, and it’s fairly accurate. She is going to be a dangerous weapon for BU for four years.”
In addition to providing a spark plug for the Terrier offense, she helped shut down on the other side of the field to thwart the Tigers’ offensive bursts. Cords made a clean slide tackle late in the game to take the ball from an opposing forward streaking up the right sideline preparing for a cross. In the waning moments of the match she used her head — quite literally – deflecting a ball on target to an open forward ready to deposit it into BU’s goal.
“Our defense tries to stay compact,” Cords said. “[Sophomore] Casey Brown organizes us really well.”
After a strong showing in the opening weekend, Feldman said she is confident that Cords will become even better as she gains more experience.
“She’s got some things to learn, but her instincts are great, her aggressiveness is great, her timing is great,” Feldman said. “She’s going to have her ups and downs, but [Angelina] has the mental side of things. For a freshman she’s playing like a junior.”
On a team stacked with promising young players, rookie Janie Reilly also put up an impressive showing when she shut out the Tigers on Sunday in her first career start.
Princeton came up with key scoring opportunities on corner kicks at the end of the first half Sunday, but Reilly stepped up to intercept a couple of Princeton passes before they had a chance to find opposing forwards.
Reilly fought off a couple of close calls early in the second half when a Princeton player lifted a ball toward the top corner of BU’s goal, but the freshman netminder deflected the ball over the crossbar. The save allowed the team to maintain its 1-0 lead and ensure the first victory of the season.
“Janie had a whale of a game,” Feldman said. “She played just about a perfect game. She was a presence with her voice and with her command.”
In a sport that places such a high premium on defense, there’s no doubt a couple of strong freshman in the backfield will help the Terriers in their mission to improve upon their 2006 campaign that resulted in an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
“The freshman are doing really well and stepping up and contributing,” Cords said. “We’re all just trying to do our best to make the team better and do what we can to win games.”