After watching a game like this, where does one begin?
After all, so many great things happened for the Boston University women’s soccer team on Saturday. To start, the Terriers beat the Binghamton University Bearcats, 1-0. They beat them in a torrential downpour. They beat them as senior forward Meghann Cook became the all-time assist leader at BU. They beat them as freshman midfielder Marisa Schumacher-Hodge scored the first goal of her collegiate career and was named America East co-Rookie of the Week. And they beat them to remain in sole possession of first place in America East.
BU had to brave the elements for the second time this season (as it had in the 1-1 tie with the University of Maine on Sept. 29), and it seems as though every time the Terriers have a big game against a tough conference opponent, Mother Nature wants to come and play as well. But this time, the Terriers (8-4-3, 4-0-1 America East) made sure they came out on top.
“At first the conditions weren’t that big of a deal, so it wasn’t the biggest focus,” said senior back Susan Marschall. “After half time, the shock of the cold weather kept everyone on their toes – if not, we would have frozen – and we were prepared for anything.”
The Terriers dominated play for practically the entire contest. The Bearcats (7-6-2, 3-2-0), who had been just a point behind BU before the game, didn’t record their first shot on goal until 25 minutes into the first half, as BU outshot Binghamton, 12-9.
“I think that the defense deserves a lot of credit for the win,” said junior goalkeeper Stephanie Dreyer. “They were extremely effective in the first half and when we started to get tired in the second half, they fought through it and made sure that we preserved the win.”
Led by Marschall and junior back Erica Lee, the defense fought the nasty weather and the Bearcat attack alike.
“Fortunately, we were playing at home,” Marschall said. “The field was soaked, but it wasn’t muddy. Thankfully, the wind wasn’t as much of a factor as it was in Maine. We were definitely more cautious in the back. There was an element of déjà vu, but the team was pretty adamant about not going into overtime.”
With the way the offense played in the first half, it looked as though overtime wouldn’t even cross the Terriers’ minds. All of BU’s offensive pressure finally paid off when Cook soared her free kick from outside the 18-yard box over the Bearcat wall and off the crossbar. Schumacher-Hodge took the rebound in traffic, slamming home a header with 29:53 left in the half.
“[Schumacher-Hodge] plays bigger in the biggest games so far in her short career,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “She comes to play and is intelligent, obviously very skilled, and very confident. We’re fortunate that she’s here with us.”
Not only did Schumacher-Hodge record her first-ever goal and Rookie of the Week honor, but Cook recorded her record-breaking 23rd assist. “It feels pretty good,” Cook said of breaking the BU record. “It’s just stats though. It’s nice to have the accomplishment, but I try to not really think too much about stats.”
“She is an integral part of our offense and when she’s successful, we’re successful,” Marschall said. “Not everyone on the team pays attention to individual records, so I think sometimes achievements go unnoticed. But hopefully she’ll continue to get assists, because that means someone is scoring.”
Despite their slow start and the plummeting temperature, the Bearcats refused to leave Nickerson Field without a fight.
Binghamton had three corner kicks in the second half, two of which came in the final 20 minutes. Dreyer came up huge during the Bearcat threat, making three of her four saves after halftime, notching the Terriers’ fourth shutout in five games – their seventh of the year.
“I made sure that I had two pairs of gloves with me so that I could warm up with one pair and use the other dry pair for the game,” Dreyer said. “Coach told us that we had to be extra careful in the conditions and make sure that we got our bodies behind the ball because in the rain it would skid all over the place.”
Being extra careful was definitely part of the story, but so was every other element of the game. On a night where so much was at stake, the Terriers pulled together and proved that they’re the team to beat this year, and they don’t look to be letting any more victories slip though their fingers.