Despite falling in the America East semifinals to the University of Maine on penalty kicks two Sundays ago, the Boston University women’s soccer team’s season will continue. The Terriers (13-4-2, 6-1-1 AE) received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament yesterday, earning the right to face archrival Boston College this Friday in Piscataway, N.J.
The at-large bid is the first in the history of the women’s program and is only the second an America East team has received in the last decade.
“It’s pretty emotional,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “This program took another step. We didn’t win our conference, but we proved ourselves over the course of the year to earn an at-large. That is historic for us. I’m really proud of the kids because they won some really important games this year.
“We didn’t finish where we wanted to in the conference,” Feldman continued. “But we feel good about ourselves. We feel like we belong. We can’t wait to prove it.”
The team and coaches arrived at T’s Pub for the selection show on ESPNEWS at 3 p.m. but had to suffer until 3:40 for the official brackets. After 48 teams had been announced, BU still had not gotten its ticket punched to attend the big dance.
“It was nerve-racking,” Feldman said. “I didn’t want to see it go to the second to last bracket. But we knew BC and Hartford weren’t in there yet, so I was holding out some hope. I was a little concerned.”
Then the magical moment came and BU along with Boston College appeared in the bracket next to each other and the team erupted into screams and applause. Not only would the Terriers be dancing, but against a BC-a team who they beat, 1-0, in August.
“That match was so long ago I’m not sure if it’s an advantage or disadvantage,” Feldman said. “It’s a great rivalry. I know our players and their players will be up for the contest. I think there’s a lot of confidence on both sides. We have history. It’s going to be a great battle. We’ll be ready that’s for certain and I expect they will too.”
Feldman said the team had not expected a bid, nor were they resigned to the notion that their season was over. Because the University of Hartford defeated Maine in the America East title game Saturday, BU’s chances increased because Maine’s at-large resume was inferior.
Hartford’s win may have vaulted the Terriers into the tournament while the Black Bears will be hibernating in Orono until next fall. The anxiety of waiting a week to learn the fate of her team’s season went in phases for the 12th-year coach.
“Last week was good when we practiced,” Feldman said. “Our mentality was that we were practicing for something. We could go about our business doing that because the four seniors were so onboard. For everyone else we were practicing for something even if it wasn’t for this coming weekend. It was great because we were in our groove.
“Today was not good,” Feldman continued. “I went away and some of the players did a lot of different things. It was really nice to get away. I didn’t think about it much but today was brutal. As it got closer, it’s not a comfortable feeling. I want to protect them. I can deal with being disappointed because I’m going to be here for a while and experience this again. But the seniors wouldn’t. You never know when you are going to put a season together like this.”
The match will be played on Rutgers University’s campus. If BU wins, it will play the winner of the Hartford/Rutgers match Sunday.