On Saturday, the Boston University lacrosse team lost, 13-12, to the University of Connecticut in a match-up featuring two of the best teams in the nation. In their final game of the fall season, the Terriers tried out several different looks to get one last glimpse of what they can expect to see in the upcoming spring season.
“We look at it as a trial experience and a chance to look at different lines and see what worked and what didn’t,” said senior defender and captain Michelle Bussichella.
Saturday’s battle of the canine heavyweights was a back-and-forth thriller ending with a game-winning goal that found the back of the net with just two minutes remaining. The Huskies got off to an early 3-0 lead, but the Terriers came back to tie and the two teams went goal for goal before the Huskies pulled away for the win.
“We were definitely looking to come away with the win,” Bussichella said. The Terriers are coming off of a very successful spring 2005 season, in which they were ranked as high as third in the nation, the highest ranking for any women’s team in BU history.
The Terriers finished the season at 18-2 and won the America East Conference before losing in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals to the University of Virginia, the eventual runner-up.
This year the tournament will be held at BU’s Nickerson Field, and the pressure is on for the Terriers to be even better than last year.
“We definitely feel the pressure,” Bussichella said. “The biggest challenge is that we can’t get complacent about last year. This is a new year and we have a lot of new players in the mix.”
The Huskies went 11-5 in the spring of 2005 and won the ECAC. They finished the season ranked 16th and look to break the top-15 in 2006. The Terriers will have plenty to think about as they head into the winter months with their work cut out for them after an up-and-down fall season, ending with Saturday’s loss in Storrs, Conn.
“The fall was a roller-coaster ride,” Bussichella said. “There’s a lot of things we can learn from and work on. The UConn game was a good stepping stone to leave fall ball and head into the winter. It shows us what we have a good grasp on and what we need to work on.”
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