For a squad that has shown steady improvement in every game so far this season, the Boston University field hockey team took a step backward this weekend despite splitting two games in the Midwest.
After knocking off Central Michigan University (1-5) Saturday by a score of 1-0, the Terriers (3-5) were bowled over by the No. 6 University of Iowa (6-2) yesterday, allowing 25 shots in a 5-1 loss.
“It really wasn’t a good weekend,” BU coach Sally Starr said. “We’re disappointed. We won a game, but we did not feel good about how we played. Leaving [last week’s game against Boston College], we felt good. But we underperformed this weekend, and we didn’t feel good about it.”
After walking away from Chestnut Hill last week, the Terriers had made progress defensively and in their midfield game. Matching BC’s aggressive and physical style, BU held the Eagles to just four legitimate scoring chances.
After working on communication and teamwork in practice last week, this weekend was supposed to be a chance for Starr and the Terriers to showcase what they tweaked last Thursday.
With intensity and aggressive pressure at the forefront of its attack, BU failed to transfer its late-week progress into Saturday’s game against Central Michigan.
Deflated from the start, the Terriers mustered one goal on eight shots.
“I think coming out of it, it was a catch-22 for us,” Starr said of the win. “Our corner defense was excellent, but the catch was we shouldn’t have had to play that many corners in the first place.”
Allowing 11 corners over the course of the game, the BU defense, led by sophomore goalkeeper Kim Kastuk, shut down Central Michigan on every one.
Registering two saves in total, Kastuk oversaw a solid defensive effort in front of her. The problem was, as Starr explained last night, that the midfield transition and perimeter defense yielded more ground than it had so far this season.
“We just shouldn’t have been in that position” Starr said. “Our great corner play kept us in the game, but it shouldn’t have come to that. We let them have too many opportunities.”
While graduate student Sheena Berry’s first goal of the season temporarily alleviated the defense’s struggles Saturday, senior forward Hayly Ross’ tally yesterday did little to mask the Terriers’ inefficient, one-dimensional attack.
“It was our competitive edge that was missing,” Starr said of yesterday’s 5-1 loss. “We were beaten to 50-50 balls, and we were one dimensional in our attack. We are relying on the big hit up the field instead of playing for possession. We look for the long pass, but we need to play a short game when we need to.”
Angling the attack toward consistency and finding the passing lane, the Terriers will look to rebound from a Sunday afternoon that saw Kastuk face 25 shots, 13 of which she turned away for a recorded save.
“Against Iowa, we played an excellent first half,” Starr said. “They scored two goals in the first minute in the second half. You watch the tape and you can see us doing things that we shouldn’t be doing. We took a step backwards this weekend.”
Iowa’s shot total, the highest BU has allowed in three years, marks the lowest of the lows for the Terriers in a year that has been hampered by inconsistency.
Despite the dip, however, Starr said this week’s practices will give the Terriers a chance to take a closer look at what failed them this weekend.
At the top of the list is playing “together.”
“We need to develop our ability to play team hockey,” Starr said. “We need to work on our passing game. We had so many excellent passing opportunities to make good passes, but for some reason we aren’t seeing or utilizing them. It’s taking the passing game away from us.
“I would think that there have been times when we’ve done everything better, but for whatever reason, we were out of sync this weekend. It’s not because the passing lanes weren’t there, I think its just poor decision making on the ball. It’s halfway through the season. We can’t use inexperience as an excuse anymore.”
