After a disappointing performance Wednesday, the Boston University lacrosse team hopes to snap a two-game losing streak Saturday when it hosts Stony Brook University.
In the final regular-season home game for six BU seniors, the Terriers (5-8, 2-1 America East) will hope to rebound from a 12-8 loss at the University of Connecticut when they face off against the Seawolves (5-7, 1-2).
The two teams have met just twice in program history, and BU has won both games by a combined score of 34-9.
Stony Brook may be a welcome sight for a Terrier offense that has struggled lately. BU has not reached double digits in either of its last two games, both losses.
BU’s seniors include two former all-conference players in seniors Sasha Lang and Liz Eberhart, as well as Kylie Wagenet and Hannah Cross, who along with Lang have each earned the Most Improved Player award the last three seasons.
If the Terriers want to send them off with a victory, they will have to overcome a stagnant offense that has suffered the brunt of a string of injuries so far this season. Injuries to Lang, Cross and junior Keely Anderson have forced BU coach Liza Shoemaker to frequently shuffle the lineup, often at the expense of the attack.
After finishing third in the country last year with 12.78 goals per game, the Terriers have been forced to watch as offensive leaders Lindsay Lewis and Alyssa Trudel have tried to plug the holes in the midfield and, occasionally, the defense.
Lewis, the team’s leading scorer, has managed to extend her 28-game goal-scoring streak to a ridiculous level, and Trudel, the only active Terrier with more than 100 career points, has continued to power the offense.
Despite the offensive woes, BU has received some unexpected contributions in the face of the rising tide of injuries, notably from sophomore Kaitlyn Cuneo and freshman Noelle Hopper.
After helping anchor the defense her freshman year, Cuneo has moved to the midfield, and the results have been impressive. Cuneo is third in scoring on the team this season, including a game-high four goals in a 13-12 victory over Brown University.
Hopper, meanwhile, has also moved up to the midfield and has four goals in the last eight games, including a goal in three of the last four contests.
As the Terriers seek to right the ship, they will have to do so from a most unfamiliar position: second place. After dominating the America East with a 14-game conference winning streak that spanned the last two years and two tournament titles, BU was knocked out of the top spot with a 7-6 loss to the University of New Hampshire last weekend.
The Wildcats, the team BU defeated in each of the last two tournament championship games, were expected to be the toughest conference competition the team would face, a billing they certainly lived up to by stifling the Terrier attack throughout the game.
But all hope is not lost as the team prepares for the America East Tournament. Shoemaker has been rallying her squad around the mantra of “We’ll see ’em again,” as BU will most likely meet New Hampshire in the title game for a third straight year.
After a final non-conference game against No. 12 Dartmouth College, the Terriers close out the season with two games against America East foes – the University at Albany and Binghamton University.
BU has defeated the two schools by a combined score of 76-6 the last two seasons, including 20-0 shellackings of Binghamton in 2002 and Albany last year.
The six Terrier seniors will be honored in a pre-game ceremony before taking the field today.
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