The Boston University women’s soccer team clinched a spot in the America East Conference Tournament and moved into a first place tie atop the standings, despite splitting a pair of games against conference opponents over the weekend.
BU bowed to the University of Hartford, 1-0, on Friday night, and rolled over Stony Brook University, 4-1, Sunday afternoon.
The Hawks went on to beat a fading University of Maine team with less than a minute to play in the second overtime on Sunday, propelling Hartford and BU into the top spots in the conference with 16 points apiece.
Sophomore forward Meghann Cook notched two second half goals to guide BU on Sunday, while sophomore forward Melissa Shulman added to her team scoring lead and freshman forward Lauren Erwin scored the equalizer in the first half to pace the Terriers to victory.
Senior goalkeeper Jessica Clinton made just two saves, as BU improved to 9-5-4 (5-1-1 America East) on the season. Stony Brook dropped to 6-10-1 (2-5-0).
The Seawolves opened the scoring when Danielle Lewis knocked home an unassisted goal in the 19th minute. The Terriers were quick to counter, as Erwin capitalized on a Stony Brook miscue and beat goalie Cindy Bennett at 29:52 with a low shot.
Head coach Nancy Feldman said Erwin’s goal was crucial, as it sent the teams into halftime tied.
‘Going into halftime 1-1, we could say that we need to go win it in the second half instead of being behind the eight ball,’ Feldman said. ‘Having the wind in the second half was a big advantage.’
BU broke the game open midway through the second frame, as Shulman scored her 10th goal of the season a header off a pass from sophomore midfielder Susan Marschall. The ball was tipped by Bennett and trickled over the goal line, giving the Terriers their first lead of the contest.
BU never looked back, as Cook sealed the game with two goals just six minutes apart. Her 25-yard boot gave the Terriers a 3-1 advantage, and she fired the ball into an empty net in the 81st minute when Bennett misplayed a loose ball.
‘It’s nice to see Meghann Cook score two goals in this game because she has earned them the last few weeks,’ Feldman said. ‘It’s nice to see her hard work pay off.’
But despite the 4-1 victory, Feldman said the team is going to have to work hard on specific aspects of the game.
‘Defensively we did not look good,’ Feldman said. ‘We just weren’t sharp and not tackling well. The score really wasn’t indicative of the way we played.’
BU fell for the first time this season on Nickerson Field Friday night, as Hartford shut the Terriers out, 1-0, in a lopsided match.
Hartford junior Stephanie Pothier scored the game-winner just 2:17 into the match when she beat Clinton low after finding a loose ball inside the 18-yard box. The goal was set up by a free kick, which was sent into a crowd of players only to deflect off Hartford’s Jamie Pendleton and bounce to Pothier.
The Hawks sat on the lead from then on, allowing the Terriers to work the ball in the offensive zone seemingly at will. BU had chances to score, but efforts from Cook, senior forward Rebecca Beyer and senior back Emily Dionne either missed the net or were turned away by goalie Heather Hinton.
‘We outshot them, and we outplayed them, but they just got that lucky goal which was a letdown in the first five minutes of the game,’ Dionne said.
Feldman said once BU found itself losing, a sense of panic may have set in.
‘We put ourselves in a hole,’ Feldman said. ‘More often than not, with the chances we created today, we are going to get the equalizer, but we just couldn’t get over the hump.’
The loss was even tougher to swallow than normal because Hartford and BU have a history of playing meaningful, physical games down the stretch.
‘Everyone’s fighting for a spot in the conference tournament, so they are going to bring their emotions and their passion and it’s going to be physical and a little bit nastier,’ Feldman said. ‘I don’t think either team was doing anything to hurt anybody. For us, it was maybe a little frustration, and for them, I think at times they felt a little overmatched because we were controlling the play and they were just trying to hang on.’
Since the inception of BU women’s soccer in 1995, Hartford is the only conference opponent against which the Terriers have a losing record (4-6-0), a sign that a win against the Hawks might have been extra special.
‘There’s a lot of respect between these two programs and I think we bring out the best in each other,’ Feldman said. ‘I know this is one that they needed real bad because they needed the points and I’m sure that just added to the spice of it that it was against us.’
BU looks to hold on to first place Thursday night at Northeastern University. The Huskies sit in second place in the America East, just one point behind the Terriers.
BU closes out its regular season campaign Saturday afternoon in a home game against Binghamton University.