The Boston University women’s lacrosse team is entering its most important impasse of the season, a three-game road trip that begins Sunday with a match-up against No. 15 Old Dominion University.
The No. 7 Terriers suffered arguably their most disappointing defeat of the season Wednesday, a 7-6 overtime loss against unranked rival Harvard University, which will more than likely cause them to plummet several spots in the national rankings.
More importantly, though, the loss comes immediately before BU (6-3, 2-0 America East) embarks on a road trip in the heart of its schedule that could make or break its season. The Terriers face the Monarchs on Sunday, then follow with two conference games, first against Towson University April 12 and against the University of Delaware April 14.
Frustration is probably high among the Terriers right now, and the same may be said for the Monarchs, who also lost Wednesday, 12-8, to No. 10 William and Mary College after being up by two goals midway through the second half.
But after finishing just 5-9 last year, the Monarchs have already shown marked improvement and currently sit at 7-5 overall and 3-3 in the Colonial Athletic Conference.
Old Dominion didn’t even make its own conference tournament last season, an achievement it seems likely to accomplish this season.
BU had no trouble handling Old Dominion last season, cruising to a 10-6 win, but this year Terrier coach Sue Murphy said the Monarchs are a different team.
“Number one, we’ve got to do a very good job coming together [today] and tomorrow and reaffirm our goals,” Murphy said. “Old Dominion is stronger than last year, they are a much more skilled team. They rely on three top scorers, and we want to try to take at least two of the three out of their game.”
The three scorers Murphy referred to are all potential game-breakers, and all are having career years.
The Monarchs have been led by midfielder Suzanne Wosczyna, who has team highs in both points (46) and goals (38) this season. Attacker Jennifer Hiester has been a sniper up front as well, tallying 32 points on 25 goals and seven assists, while midfielder Dana Wisniewski has hit the back of the net 25 times this year.
Old Dominion began its season earlier than BU, and the Monarchs have just one regular season game left before their conference tournament after they face the Terriers. That, combined with BU’s near-desperation need for a win, should make for a ferocious game.
“If we are at all affected by the loss to Harvard, it should make us hungrier to win. It’s going to be a challenge to get over this hump because we’re a little down and a little disappointed right now,” Murphy said. “But it’s a long trip to take for us not to perform. I expect us to be intense and focused.”
This road trip is BU’s last excursion before the America East tournament, but the Terriers, who have been without a true home field the entire season due to renovations to Nickerson Field, have become experts on adapting to new surroundings.
“We’re looking forward to getting out of here. We were 8-0 last year at home and sometimes that starts to weigh us down a little, so I think there’s less pressure on us when we’re on the road,” Murphy said. “Our practice and game schedules change all the time at home, so actually there’s more stability on the road.
“We’re going to go in [to the road trip] strongly and with confidence.”
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