Lots of Boston University students yesterday morning probably looked out of their windows at the wet snow and gusty winds, shook their heads and got right back in bed.
Unfortunately that’s not an option for everyone, especially members of the Boston University women’s lacrosse team, who rolled out of bed yesterday whether they wanted to or not and trudged up Commonwealth Avenue to play the University of Connecticut at Boston College’s Alumni Field.
In the words of junior defender Gabby Juocys, the Terriers have to “take whatever they give us.”
That in light of the continued renovation of Nickerson Field, which has been unavailable throughout BU’s spring season. The result has been squeezing in games at Harvard University, Boston College and Babson College between the athletic schedules of the teams at the aforementioned sites. And the games are the easy part — rather than practice at its own backyard, the Nick, the Terriers have to plan meals, classes and even sleep around night practices.
“We came off last year with pretty much a home schedule, which was great, but we knew this year we were going to have more away games, especially in the conference,” Juocys said. “It’s not the games so much as the practices. We don’t have practice until 7:30 at night, so you really have to plan your day. We’re lucky to have Boston College and Harvard so close to lend us their fields.”
And on top of it all, Mother Nature has dealt the Boston area and BU lacrosse a cruel hand this spring, with unseasonable cold and buckets of rain, finally capped off yesterday by invading snow just two weeks removed from May.
Nonetheless, the Terriers battled the elements and the Huskies yesterday and beat both of them. BU avoided a cancellation due to weather that would have been costly, and handed Connecticut a 10-goal loss to think about on the bus ride home, 13-3.
“We played with confidence, and we were basically on top of our game,” said junior attacker Katie Nordhoff.
“We really found ourselves and clicked again,” Juocys said. “We lost a close game to Connecticut last year, and we wanted to go out and just give it to them.”
BU trounced Towson University, 21-6, last Thursday, but aside from that win the Terriers haven’t been giving it to many teams. In fact, the once sixth-ranked Terriers have slipped all the way to No. 19 after collecting three losses this month.
It looked as if the Huskies were about to pull another upset yesterday, as they came back to tie the Terriers, 3-3, after BU had opened up a two-goal lead on a tally by Juocys less than two minutes into the second half.
But BU obviously learned some lessons from its losses to Old Dominion University and the University of Delaware. However, both games it lost leads in. The Terriers slammed the door shut with 10 straight goals by seven different players while junior goalkeeper Brooke Barrett put a wall up in the net.
“All we need is one spark. It was kind of perfect for today. Once the goals came, we just started having more and more fun,” Juocys said. “We were ready to play. It doesn’t matter if it’s hot or cold; everyone’s got weather they like to play in.”
And once more this spring, the celebration after a win was on a chilly, wet day on a foreign field. Saturday, the BU seniors will stand on Babson College’s field to be honored for their last “home game,” not on Nickerson where they spent their first three years.
But it’s something the Terriers have become accustomed to, no matter how long the days, how far the field or how fat the April snowflakes.
“It doesn’t really matter where we play,” Nordhoff said.
“Give us two nets on a field and some sticks and we can play.”
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