It goes without mentioning, but if you don’t score, you can’t win.
The Boston University women’s soccer team, well aware of the difficulty caused by consistently weak offensive performances, revisited the early-season struggles that plagued the Terriers in a 1-0 loss against the University of Hartford on Nickerson Field on Thursday night. The Terriers needed almost 65 minutes to register their first shot on goal Thursday, and the game marked the first time in four weeks that BU failed to score.
BU had found its offensive rhythm leading up to the contest against the Hawks, recording 11 goals in its previous five games. Thursday’s game was a reminder of the offensive doldrums the team was lost in early in the season. After a stretch of three straight shutout losses, a fire was lit under the Terriers, who began to play a smart, crisp style of attacking offense. That spark was missing from BU’s game against Hartford, leaving the team scrambling for offensive opportunities.
Just moments into the game, BU created a swift scoring chance but an offsides call waived Emily Pallotta’s goal.
“I was hoping that we could put it in the back of the net and start off with a goal. It was hard seeing it taken back, because I think it would have been a different game,” Basham said.
For a moment it looked as if Basham was going to take the ball in on goal herself, and the cross to Pallotta came as a bit of a surprise.
“I didn’t think I had an angle,” Basham said. “[A Hartford defender] came out to block it.”
Shortly after the goal was called back, BU had another golden opportunity to get on the scoreboard. Sophomore Mara Osher made a good move to turn a corner on the right side of the field and put the ball in. It bounced through two Hawks defenders and suddenly came to Pallotta, but she missed the ball with a wide-open goal in front of her.
In the 44th minute, the Terriers let another scoring opportunity slip by when Farrell McClernon once again found herself at the center of attention. McClernon dished the ball off to junior Jennifer Herman, who passed it back to McClernon at the top of the box. The forward put a hard, low shot on net that got past the goalie, but was sent just inches wide of the right post.
“We created some really good chances early on. You have two choices: You either put away the early chances or you keep fighting to create those opportunities,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “I think we found as the game wore on, we didn’t create as many opportunities. We didn’t keep our speed of play.”
Trailing by a goal in the 70th minute, the Terriers began to scramble on offense. In a haphazard flurry of opportunities, BU managed to put two shots on goal, including a ball in from the corner that Pallotta almost forced past Hartford goalkeeper Liz Cook. The best chance of the series came on a free kick that the Terriers fumbled away. Freshman Lina Cords tapped the ball back to junior Marisha Schumacher-Hodge, who failed to control it and send a shot in as the ball was stripped away.
“I think we could have been more composed at times with our last chances,” Schumacher-Hodge said. “I think Hartford did a good job of pressuring us, and it was hard for our forwards to find support. We were having trouble connecting. We’ll definitely put this game behind us.”