The storylines running through the Boston University women’s soccer game on Saturday afternoon were enough to write an anthology. In the end, however, the Terriers were all focused on the main plot.
The 4-0 win over Binghamton University (9-7-2; 3-4-2 AE) put a new preface before the team name. It is now, for the third time in four years, the America East Regular Season Champion Boston University Terriers (11-5-4; 7-1-1 AE).
The game marked the last regular season game at home for the five seniors on the team, but the victory ensured that the semifinals and finals of the conference tournament will be played at Nickerson Field on Friday and Sunday. The Terriers will face the winner of Tuesday’s opening round game, Northeastern University (11-7-0; 5-4-0 AE) at the University of New Hampshire (7-8-4; 5-2-2 AE), in a semifinal game on Friday at 6 p.m. at Nickerson.
But for most of the team, next week could wait until Monday. Saturday’s game was one to savor.
‘It feels great,’ said senior tri-captain goalie Jessica Clinton. ‘After last season, we just took it, we learned our lesson and we’ve turned this season around.’
The Senior Day festivities became extra special for Clinton, whose journey into the BU record books left her stamped as the greatest goalie to ever play for the Terriers. The latest achievements after Saturday’s win include the all-time shutout record (18) and the all-time victory record (36) both of which were previously held by Meghan Lynch (’99).
‘I was saving the [record-setting performance] for my parents,’ Clinton joked, since her parents were in town for the game. ‘Record or no record, it’s been a great four years. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.’
Clinton wasn’t the only one for whom the win marked a milestone. It was career victory number 200 for BU head coach Nancy Feldman in a career that spans 15 years, the last nine at BU.
If those stories weren’t enough, there was also senior forward Kathleen Chen scoring a goal on a cross from sophomore Brooke Bingham (two assists) that put the Terriers up 2-0 at 71:34 to seal the victory. Yes, the same Chen who started the game on the bench despite the senior celebration and despite playing the best soccer of her life over the past month.
Feldman called the decision not to start Chen a tough one since she was playing so well, but she was happy with the way Chen responded off the bench.
‘She was good enough to start, but I didn’t want to screw with things,’ Feldman said. ‘We’ve never had a policy to start seniors on senior day and we’re not going to start having a policy.’
Policy or no policy, Chen made the most of a significant chunk of playing time on Senior Day with her goal.
‘It’s like 10 times more exciting,’ Chen said. ‘I’ve worked so hard the past four years and I’m finally at a point where I can really contribute to the team.’
Chen wasn’t the only Terrier who saw redemption during Saturday’s sunny game. Junior Lauren Ciccone had a difficult October, but the calendar turn to November made things start to seem a little bit like September for the forward.
Ciccone scored three goals and had an assist in the season’s opening month. In the month that followed she lost playing time after the lineup was reshuffled, and last weekend she injured her ankle, forcing her to miss a game.
On Sunday she entered the game with 12 minutes left and made her presence felt right away. Shulman crossed a pass in front of the net, splitting Binghamton goalie Kristie Bowers and a Binghamton defender. Ciccone took the pass and rammed home the shot at 82:42.
Ciccone took an encore a couple of minutes later when she blasted a rebound off senior back Emily Dionne’s initial shot into the net at 85:01 to put BU up 4-0.
‘This was her first game back after being out. It’s important for her to be as confident as possible for the postseason. She adds a dimension to the team,’ Feldman said. ‘That dimension is she can score goals and she has a great pace and she can serve great balls and she can get behind defenses.’
It didn’t always look like BU would have an easy time with the Bearcats. After a resounding national anthem sung by the American Idol-in-waiting sophomore forward Meghann Cook the Terriers were only able to get one shot on goal in the first half.
That shot should’ve been good enough for a goal with 12 seconds left in the half. Sophomore back Susan Marschall hit a shot off the crossbar that bounced straight down and got away from Bowers. Sophomore back Jena Harb headed the ball into what appeared to be the net since the net moved. But the official ruled that the ball never crossed the goal line.
‘He [the official] has the best look. Based on how he was refereeing for the first 44 minutes of the game, I didn’t trust him. I don’t think he was in the game,’ Feldman said. ‘Maybe that inspired us a little bit, although it’s hard to know.’
It certainly looked like inspired soccer in the second half on the Terriers’ part. They dominated control of the ball and peppered Bowers with 10 shots on goal.
BU broke into the scoring column with the game-winning goal by red-shirt sophomore Melissa Shulman off a free kick at 69:42. The kick came from 19 yards out on a set piece designed by assistant coach David Bucciero. Shulman lined up facing the goal behind the ball and Bingham and Dionne lined up opposite each other on both sides of the ball. Bingham sent the ball through Dionne’s legs and Shulman moved with it, but the wall of four Binghamton defenders didn’t. Shulman blasted a shot past the unaware Binghamton team and into the upper right of the net for the 1-0 lead.
‘They had a lot of confidence from practicing,’ Feldman said. ‘Dave has not kept [the set pieces] the same all season, so he has kept it fresh.’
After the flurry of goals, the only suspense left was whether or not Clinton would preserve the shutout and the record. That shutout came with a few tense moments, especially in the 80th minute. A shot came in from a Binghamton player that hit the crossbar and the deflection came in front of the net into traffic. Clinton jumped up in the middle of the players bunched together and punched the ball out towards a BU defender.
‘I started the entire play. I screwed up. I let it out,’ Clinton said. ‘If they scored it would have been my own fault. It was a little scary. I got kind of scared when it hit the inside of the post.’
Feldman admittedly was breathing heavy during the scrum in front of the net, but after the game she could breathe a little easier knowing the two records were now in Clinton’s name.
‘Finally, it’s terrific that it’s on this day. She had to wait a little longer. It was important to the team that she did it today,’ Feldman said. ‘She’s been a rock and a terrific leader. That’s really where she has blossomed this year. She makes the players in front of her better, because they want to play for her.
‘She’s going to have to come up with some big saves for us to move on through the tournament and hopefully beyond,’ Feldman added. ‘We might call on her to make a couple of game-saving and game-winning.’
That’s one storyline that’ll have to wait for the epilogue.
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