Looking to retain their 2024 Patriot League title, the Boston University women’s soccer team dropped to the United States Naval Academy 3-1 in their conference opener.
Now winless for the last five games, the Terriers (3-4-2, 0-1 Patriot League) were unable to overcome the accuracy of the Mids, who scored on three of their four shots on goal.
“They were able to put the ball away, [and] we weren’t, in critical moments in the second half,” said Head Coach Megan Burke.
BU started the attack early in the game. About three minutes in, sophomore midfielder and forward Olivia Avellar pounced on the ball after a missed tackle, shooting from the edge of the box — an advance blocked by Navy’s sophomore goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood.
“[Avellar] just brought a ton of energy, a lot of confidence on the ball,” Burke said.
Then on the Terriers’ first corner of the game, a little over three minutes later, senior defender Helene Tyburczy headed the ball right into Stramrood’s arms.
The Mids responded with their own offensive firepower when sophomore forward and defender Kayana Adlam forced a save out of senior goalkeeper Susan Shobeiri and rang her left post.
The Terriers continued to push as they closed out the first half, with senior midfielder Giulianna Gianino firing a curling ball from right outside the 18-yard box in the 27th minute.
At the halfway mark, the shot count was tied at six a piece.
“Chances are coming,” Burke said she told her team at halftime, “We need to have the confidence to take more opportunities and take advantage of the moments that we do have in the final third.”
Navy opened the scoring in the 53rd minute, when freshman forward and defender Helen Bonner charged down the field and blasted a long-range shot into the upper right corner.
The Terriers responded quickly, with Avellar finishing a pass from junior forward Ava Maguire for her first goal of the season in the 58th minute.
“She’s finding herself in the box and putting herself in good positions for opportunities around the goal,” Burke said.
The Mids’ response ultimately outlasted the Terriers, as they scored twice more.
In the 63rd minute, senior defender Morgan Weaver fouled Navy senior forward Marlee Heaven right outside the box. Heaven converted on her free kick, sending the ball to Shobeiri’s right side.
Freshman midfielder and forward Jessica Black iced the game in the 71st minute, rocketing yet another ball into the upper-right corner, as she received the ball off a throw-in by Bonner and spun around Gianino, who was marking her.
BU, however, did not go down without a fight. They combined for eight shots in the second half, doubling Navy’s tally of four.
“Now, we need to be a bit more structured in dangerous moments,” Burke said. “There’s so many more games, so many more points to earn, so this is a learning lesson, an early one.”
The Terriers will return home Sept. 27, continuing conference play against Loyola Maryland with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.