After ending a six-game non-conference losing streak, the Boston University lacrosse team will seek to extend its current winning streak to a season-high three games Saturday against the University of New Hampshire.
The Terriers (5-6, 2-0 America East) will probably face their toughest America East opponent of the season when they battle the Wildcats (7-4, 1-0) at Nickerson Field, and BU coach Liza Shoemaker has no doubt that, along with the Terriers, New Hampshire is the class of the conference.
“[New Hampshire] is our toughest competition in the America East – period,” Shoemaker said. “I definitely do [think the team is ready for New Hampshire]. [We’re] playing with a lot more confidence. We’re definitely going to be up for it. But we still have four conference games left, and we need to take each one seriously.”
BU has stormed its way through the America East in recent years, winning two consecutive conference championships and 14 consecutive league games. This season, the Terriers have struggled to meet preseason expectations.
After BU began the season ranked No. 10 in the country, a monumentally difficult non-conference schedule contributed to a five-game losing skid that knocked the team out of the national rankings.
Since then, the Terriers rebounded with a decisive victory over the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a heart-stopping 13-12 win against Brown University. For the squad to keep up the momentum, Shoemaker said the team needs to generate offense from more than the usual sources.
In addition to sophomore Lindsay Lewis (the team’s leading scorer) and junior Alyssa Trudel – who left the game Wednesday with an injury and who Shoemaker said is uncertain for Saturday – the Terriers need to find other players capable of putting the ball in the net. Sophomore defender Kaitlyn Cuneo filled the void against Brown with four goals.
“On a regular basis, we’ve been able to count on Kelly [Trahon] and Kaitlyn for one goal or so, but it’s really nice to get some more output from somebody else,” the coach said. “They’re finally showing just how many threats they have on offense.”
One player Shoemaker mentioned who has contributed from the bench is freshman defender Noelle Hopper.
“I’m really pleased with Noelle Hopper, who’s started the last two games and scored one goal in each,” Shoemaker said. “As little as one goal might seem, we won by one against Brown.”
The return to the win column has been punctuated by the resurgence of the potent Terrier offense, which finished third in the nation last season, averaging 12.78 goals per game. BU is 5-2 in games when the team has scored at least 10 goals and 0-4 when it has failed to hit double digits.
“The attack has stepped up a lot,” Shoemaker said. “We’re doing a much better job on offense of people asking for the ball and then going to the goal.”
The defense has also been getting into the box score, with players like Cuneo and Hopper coming from the back to generate offense. But for the winning streak to continue Saturday, Shoemaker said her defense has to do a better job of protecting the ball and getting it to the offensive stars.
“Defensively, we need to take care of the ball,” she said. “We’ve been excellent at forcing turnovers and getting ground balls, we just need to be a little more careful once we have the ball.”
The Terrier surge has also coincided with the team’s ability to pull together in the face of injuries and solidify its on-field chemistry. As a very young team led mostly by freshman and sophomores, BU took a while to find its stride with key players on the sidelines.
“It’s probably easier to just tell you who’s healthy,” Shoemaker said. “I’m not sure who’s going to be able to play Saturday and who won’t. I do know Hannah Cross, who’s been really good coming off the bench, will not be playing. We’re really just the walking wounded this season.”
Sasha Lang, one of the few seniors on the team, is coming back from an injury that forced her to the sidelines earlier in the season. Sophomore Keely Anderson will be out for about another week, and Terrier fans were certainly noticing that following the emotional win over Brown. The first thing Lewis did was lie down on the field and have a trainer work on her back.
As tempting as it may be, BU will have to avoid looking at the rest of its schedule and having visions of a free ride to the NCAA Tournament, although Shoemaker does have one thought bouncing around in the back of her head.
“I really don’t even want to look ahead at the schedule,” she said. “But yes, of course we’d love to go undefeated.”
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