The Boston University women’s soccer team earned a split on its season-opening road trip to the Midwest, beating Creighton University on Friday, 1-0, and falling to the University of Kansas, 2-1, in double overtime on Sunday.
Freshman Meghann Cook scored her first goal as a Terrier, 18 minutes into the contest against Kansas, taking a pass from freshman Brooke Bingham and beating the Jayhawk (1-0-1) goal keeper.
But Kansas battled back, keeping the game 1-0 until senior Lacey Woolf and sophomore Monica Brothers fed sophomore Rachel Gilfillan in the 73rd minute of action. Gilfillan beat BU (1-1-0) goalie Jessica Clinton from the right side of the box, tying the game at 1-1.
The score stayed tied through the remainder of regulation and the first overtime. Then, with 1:43 left to play in the second extra session, Kansas freshman Caroline Smith scored the game winner, sending the Jayhawks to their first overtime victory in school history. It was Smith’s second goal of the season.
Both teams had numerous opportunities to score, as Kansas tallied 12 shots to BU’s 11. Clinton made three saves in net for the Terriers.
“It would have been great to start the season 2-0,” said sophomore Melissa Shulman. “We had some goals taken back and we hit some posts, but we played well defensively.”
Friday night’s game was BU’s season opener, and it was a defensive struggle from the outset.
Junior forward Katie Chen scored what proved to be the game winning goal in the 75th minute of play, taking a pass from junior Emily Dionne to beat Creighton (0-1-0) goalie Jamie Thompson.
It was Chen’s first goal of the season and her first since October of her freshman year.
Clinton came up strong in goal for BU, turning away all three Creighton shots on net.
Although it would have been nice to return home undefeated, senior tri-captain Allison Merkle is satisfied with a 1-1 record.
“It is really hard to start with five road games,” Merkle said. “Now our goal is to at least be 3-2.”
The Terriers will have to work hard to recover from the loss of key players from last season, as the team’s top scorer and defenseman both graduated.
Senior Suzanne Hudak, junior Rebecca Beyer and Merkle captain a team that is on the prowl for its third America East title in as many seasons.
“I think everyone is going to have to play big,” Merkle said. “There is no weak player on this team. Hudak, Beyer and I have learned a lot about this team and we feed off of the energy and good vibes.”
Hampering the effort is a tough non-conference schedule and a fleet of wide-eyed freshmen.
Unproven at the college level, BU’s nine newcomers need to prove they can play on a competitive collegiate level.
“We have to get everyone adjusted to life in Boston,” Shulman said. “Especially for the freshmen, the first week of school can be very difficult.”
BU’s next game is on Sunday against the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The Terriers return to Nickerson Field against the University of Maine on September 17.
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