BU returns north with lessons learned

The Boston University field hockey team does not need anyone to tell them that NCAA Division I sports provide some tough competition. Over the past weekend, the Terriers took on some of the toughest competition the nation has to offer, and it was not a weekend that will be easy to forget.

Saturday, the Terriers faced the best of the best, the No. 1 Demon Deacons of Wake Forest University. Despite their efforts, the Terriers were not able to score a single goal, and the Demon Deacons improved their record to an impressive 10-0 with a 6-0 victory.

Sunday’s game saw the Terriers play much better hockey, but they were still handed a loss by the No. 4 Duke University Blue Devils. The Devils continued the shutout where the Deacons had left off, and the 7-0 victory left Duke with a 9-2 record.

But, as any athlete knows, the outcome is not always the most important part of a game. As it has often been said, ‘Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is.’ And, as the Terriers, now 6-5 on the season, have been proving all season, they want to win.

‘We knew these games would be hard, but we were also excited,’ said senior midfielder and defender Lindsay Domers. ‘We knew we would learn a lot about ourselves.’

BU head coach Sally Starr echoed Domers’ sentiments, saying that an opponent’s national rank does not matter and her team should take the No. 1 team in the nation the same way as the No. 301.

‘I told them to play, P-L-A-Y, play,’ Starr said. ‘Just like they would in any other game.’

The status of the two teams could not be entirely ignored. It was the girls’ first time playing against Wake Forest, and there was some excited tension all around, Domers said.

But, as in any game, Starr said she and her team had no intention of standing in awe of their opposition.

‘We expected to win,’ Starr said. ‘We would never go out with any other goal.’

Starr said despite the circumstances, the Terriers were able to play some amazing hockey. She, along with the team, was disappointed with their play against Wake Forest, but feels they played ‘even with, if not better than Duke’ for at least the first half of Sunday’s game.

The experience gained from these games will no doubt be beneficial to the Terriers as they resume play in the America East this weekend. Domers said the games improved team confidence because the Terriers were able to ‘give up a fight and hang in there’ against two of the best teams in the nation.

Playing against two field hockey powers also taught the team a thing or two about how they can play to win. Just one day after Saturday’s disappointing defeat, the Terriers showed they were able to bounce back and play a very competitive game against another top-five school.

‘We are working for wins,’ Starr said. ‘But even if it doesn’t happen, I know we will walk away from the weekend a better team.’