The defenders on the Boston University women’s soccer team showed once again yesterday they can do much more than limit the opposing team’s offense.
Behind two goals from its backs, including the game-winner in the second half, BU defeated the University of Maine, 3-1, in America East action at Alumni Field in Orono. The victory enabled the Terriers (6-5-2, 3-0-0 America East) to remain undefeated in conference play and exact revenge on the Black Bears (4-5-2, 2-1-0), who knocked BU out of the America East Tournament last year.
Maine fired the first two shots of the game, but BU responded by increasing its offensive pressure. Junior midfielder Marisha Schumacher-Hodge’s header forced Maine goalie Jasmine Phillips to come up with a save in the seventh minute. Just after the nine-minute mark, Schumacher-Hodge took the first of five Terrier corner kicks in the half, which was followed by sophomore midfielder Emily Pallotta heading a shot wide.
On the Terriers’ fourth corner kick of the half, sophomore back Casey Brown got on the end of a Schumacher-Hodge dipping drive and volleyed the ball into the upper-right corner of the net. The goal came at 30:49 and marked Brown’s third in as many games.
The Terriers were less than a minute away from heading into halftime with the advantage, but the Black Bears were able to knot the score with 34 seconds remaining. After a Schumacher-Hodge corner, Maine countered when sophomore forward Laura Martel fired a shot that was blocked, but junior forward Christine LaBelle put the rebound past BU senior goalie Christina Reuter.
“Maine’s late goal was very discouraging,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “We had really been putting the pressure on them and it gave the momentum to begin the second half.”
The Black Bears dominated the run of the play to start the second frame. Following an injury to freshman midfielder Brittany Heist, Feldman moved Brown from back to midfielder to increase the Terriers’ physicality in the midfield.
Not long after switching Brown, BU earned a corner kick in the 64th minute. Schumacher-Hodge’s kick was cleared out by the Black Bears, but senior forward Lauren Basham recovered the ball 30 yards from the goal. She sent the ball on the wing to Schumacher-Hodge, who dribbled toward the end line and crossed the ball into the box to junior defender Shannon Mullen. Mullen chested the ball to the ground and kicked it past Phillips.
“Marisha was very persistent after the corner,” Mullen said. “It is a play we have practiced a number of times.”
Once the Terriers gained the 2-1 advantage, they didn’t waste much time adding to their lead. In the 69th minute, sophomore forward Farrell McClernon sent a pass to freshman forward Stephanie Croghan, who lobbed it over Phillips into the net. The goal was the freshman’s second in three games.
“Stephanie has a nose for the goal and has a great shot with either foot,” Feldman said. “With our injuries adding up, she will be an important reserve as the season moves on.”
In the final 20 minutes, the Terriers were able to dominate possession, and their stingy defense allowed two shots. Reuter started in goal for the fourth straight game and earned the victory with four saves. Reuter has posted a 3-0-1 record while freshman Janie Reilly has been out with a leg injury.
BU’s three goals marked its second-highest output of the season and the most goals Maine has allowed this year. Feldman said the defenders’ ability to get their names in the scoring column has impressed her.
“Our defenders are very good in the air, so it was huge that we were dangerous on set pieces,” Feldman said.
The Terriers now turn their attention toward the University of Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers (1-10-2, 0-4-0), who will come to Nickerson Field Sunday (1 p.m.).
“[Yesterday] was one of our best performances all season,” Feldman said. “We really competed physically and showed a will to score.”