The last time the Boston University women’s soccer team squared off against Brown University, the game ended in a scoreless tie. Based on the two teams’ offensive performances so far this season, it would not be surprising if the Terriers’ trip to Providence, R.I. ended in a similar fashion.
The Terriers (2-4) have been shutout in their last three games — all losses — and have tallied only two goals in six contests. Brown’s offense has been even more anemic, as the Bears (0-3-1) have been shutout in three of their four games, scoring only once.
Following Friday’s 1-0 double overtime loss to Harvard University, the Terriers spent most of their practice time focusing on the offensive side of the ball, narrowing their sights on two specific areas of their attack.
“First, we worked on switching the point of the attack and doing it quickly, so that we can penetrate and get more opportunities to go at net,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “The second thing we focused on was finishing. We had the players work on turning and finishing in tight spaces and we also worked on scoring off crosses.”
Sophomore forward Farrell McClernon and sophomore midfielder Emily Pallotta are the only Terrier goal scorers through six games. Despite BU’s lack of offensive production, Feldman does not plan on tweaking the starting lineup to try to jumpstart the Terrier attack.
“[The coaching staff] is satisfied with the players on the field at the beginning of the game,” Feldman said, “and we don’t feel that the personnel needs to be adjusted.”
Senior forward Lauren Basham will return to the lineup after missing the game against Harvard due to an injury suffered in a loss to Boston College. One minor adjustment the Terriers will make is shifting Basham to the wing and moving sophomore midfielder Mara Osher up top.
Though their scoring woes are piling up, the Terriers’ defense remains as stingy as ever. The only team to post two goals against BU was top-ranked Stanford University in the Terriers’ first game of the season. In their last five games, the Terriers have shut out two opponents while holding the other three foes to a single goal.
“Our forwards, midfielders and defenders have all been solid defensively,” Feldman said.
Brown lost its first three games of the season, including 2-0 defeats to BC and the University of New Hampshire. In the Bears’ most recent game, they battled Central Connecticut State University to a scoreless draw. But Feldman expects the Bears to pose a much stiffer test than their record suggests.
“Brown is an athletic team and they are very direct with their offense,” Feldman said. “They look to play balls over the top and they have some very solid players that are good in the air.”
The BU defense will need to focus its efforts on Brown junior forward Lindsay Cunningham. An All-Ivy League selection last year, Cunningham led the Ivy League with eight assists and notched the Bears’ third-best point total (13). Brown lost to graduation its two leading scorers from 2006, Kathryn Moos and Jill Mansfield, leaving a void in Brown’s office that it hasn’t yet been able to fill.
Redshirt freshman Janie Reilly (2-1) has been in goal for BU’s two wins this season and will get the nod against the Bears today. In the last game Reilly played against BC, she came up with several spectacular saves.
BU’s trip to Providence marks the end of a five-game road trip the Terriers began after starting the season by hosting the Terrier Invitational. The Terriers are 1-3 away from Nickerson Field, with their lone win coming against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Bears will be BU’s second straight Ivy League opponent.
The Terriers have been able to dictate the tempo of their games, a trend they will need to sustain against Brown.
“The key to the game will be playing at our own tempo. We don’t want to get in a run-and-gun game with Brown,” Feldman said.