For nearly an entire year the No. 11 Boston University field hockey team has had a nagging itch.
Following their second consecutive quick exit from the NCAA tournament last season, a 3-0 loss to the University of Connecticut, the Terriers have been waiting for a return trip to the big dance.
Now, after another successful conference-championship season, the Terriers are looking to step outside their recent history and write a new ending.
“I think it really started last winter with our preparation, physically, mentally, tactically and technically,” said BU coach Sally Starr. “After the UConn game, we identified areas of play that needed to improve.”
The Terriers have been implementing those improvements this season and now, on their way back to the tournament, they have their focus set on the ultimate goal — moving past that opening game.
The only thing standing in their way is the No. 5 University of Iowa (17-3).
But the Big Ten champions won’t be ready to roll over for the Terriers (17-5) when they face off Saturday at the University of Connecticut.
The Hawkeyes are coming off their second consecutive conference championship, which they won by way of a tenacious offense, outscoring their opponents in the tournament, 15-5, while capturing the record for goals scored in tournament history.
“Iowa is an excellent team,” Starr said. “I’m actually surprised they’re having to travel out of their region.”
And although the Hawkeyes are sure to be a formidable opponent, Starr finds a resemblance between Iowa and a team the Terriers recently sent packing for the winter, the University at Albany.
“There are a lot of similarities between Iowa and Albany,” she said. “They’re fast paced, skilled, strong athletes and I was really pleased with the type of game we had against Albany.”
If the Terriers can bring a similar attack to their game against the Hawkeyes, they could potentially notch their first win against a ranked team this season, erasing a disappointing five losses this season.
“We are really pumped for Saturday,” said BU tri-captain Sarah Hudak. “We’re happy we’re playing a team we haven’t faced yet this season because it’s fun playing teams that don’t really know what to expect from us. We aren’t really even thinking of it being an NCAA game, it’s just another game.”
It is, however, a game against another higher-ranked team.
But in each loss this season, the Terriers have improved, even if ever so slightly from the one before. It is those lessons, Starr said, that have helped the Terriers move from No. 20 in the rankings at the start of the season up to No. 11.
“In the games we lost, it was more things we did not do than the other team getting legitimate goals on us,” Starr said. “We need to minimize the mistakes we make and we need to be mentally prepared to play to our capabilities.”
Mistakes like in that 2006 tournament game. Against UConn, the Terriers allowed the Huskies to score a goal in the first minute of the game, putting themselves in an early hole they would never climb out of.
But that was a year ago and although this team returns almost all of the players from that squad, it has noticeably matured this season, and that veteran presence will be an advantage Saturday.
“It’s a different season,” Hudak said. “No one even brings that [loss] up, actually. We are such a different team this year and our confidence is awesome.”
The only rookie position for the Terriers is in net, where freshman phenom Kim Kastuk has proven ready for the task all season long, and her coach doesn’t expect that effort to waiver, regardless of the game’s magnitude.
“What we loved about Kim from day one was her mindset and her heart-set,” Starr said. “She thrives in competitive situations and when she came here, she was excited about being a goalie behind such a talented team.”
The Terriers will either be heading home Saturday afternoon after yet another quick exit or they will face the winner of the UConn/University of Massachusetts game on Sunday afternoon. Either way, it is likely these Terriers won’t go down without scratching that itch.
“Our team has worked hard all season, and I’m just looking forward to a great weekend of hockey,” Starr said.
