The Boston University women’s soccer team’s three-game winning streak came to a halt this weekend, as the Terriers lost both of their games at the Minnesota Gold Classic.
BU’s troubles began Friday against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (7-1-1), falling by a score of 2-0. The Terrier defense, which held the Panthers scoreless during the first period, wilted late in the game as it allowed two goals in the second half.
The Terriers (4-5-0) only allowed one shot in the first period, but gave up six in the second. BU’s offense also struggled, as it wasn’t able to put any of its 11 shots on net. The Terriers did produce two corner kicks, which has been one of their main sources of goals this season.
The Panthers netted their first goal 11 minutes into the second period after BU goalkeeper Janie Reilly saved a penalty shot by pushing it out of bounds. The resulting corner kick was headed in by freshman forward Sarah Hagen for her 10th goal of the season to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
BU coach Nancy Feldman said she knew Hagen would be a tough cover.
“We knew she was good in the air,” Feldman said. “She’s bigger by three or four inches than anyone on our team. She has scored nine goals previous to this, and we knew she was a target. We had the matchup we wanted on her, and she just rose above and got a good header on it.”
UWM’s next goal came in the 85th minute, when a cross reached junior Kate Megna’s back heel for her third goal of the year.
The Terriers also fell yesterday to the University of Minnesota (10-0-0), 1-0, in their final game of the Classic.
The Golden Gophers scored the lone goal of the game with 16 seconds left in the half. The late drive ended when Golden Gophers’ freshman midfielder Shari Eckstrom lifted a shot over Reilly into the middle of the net.
Despite the goal, the Terrier defense stayed in control for most of the game. It allowed 11 shots, three of which were on goal. Most importantly, BU shut out the opposition in the second half. Yesterday marked the second time in the Terriers’ five losses that the deciding goal was scored in the first half.
Feldman praised Reilly and the defensive effort.
“I think our defense has been sound all year long,” Feldman said. “There’s only been two games we’ve let up two goals, and two goals is the most we’ve given up in any game. I think that says something about the whole team, especially our defense and our goalkeeping.”
The Terrier offense, which was shut out for the second straight game, started slow with one shot in the first half and five overall. BU once again had trouble drawing corner kicks, with none in the first half and only one for the game.
Feldman said the caliber of Golden Gopher goalkeeper Lindsey Dare was one of the reasons the Terriers had trouble scoring.
“They have a good goalkeeper and some of our shots were from long range, which she was able to cover well since she had a little bit more time,” Feldman said. “We did well getting shots, but most of them weren’t from tight areas.”
