For the third straight game, the Boston University women’s soccer team found the back of net. But this time, it wasn’t enough to earn a victory.
The Terriers (5-5-2, 2-0-0 America East) took the lead on a first half-goal, but allowed a fluke goal in the second half of a 1-1 double overtime tie against Dartmouth College (3-7-1) last night at Nickerson Field. The game marked BU’s last non-conference contest, as it looks ahead to six conference matchups to end the season.
Two members of the Terrier defense, which has done an excellent job keeping opponents off the scoreboard throughout the season, helped give BU the lead against the Big Green. Freshman defender Lina Cords played a free kick from just across midfield to sophomore midfielder Mara Osher on the right wing with six minutes left in the half.
Osher dribbled the ball toward the center of the field and fired a left-footed cross to Casey Brown on the left wing. Brown moved to her left, juked to her right and rifled a low shot past Dartmouth senior goalkeeper Amanda Webb and into the left corner of the goal.
“I had to chase after Mara’s cross and then I took a chance and just tried to put it on frame,” Brown said.
Coming out of the locker room, the Big Green carried play and began to generate scoring chances. Eleven minutes into the half, sophomore midfielder Kelsey Quick sent a ball toward the goal from 40 yards out. It looked as if Dartmouth sophomore midfielder Ali Hubbard would get a foot on it, but she missed and the ball caught Terrier senior goalie Christina Reuter off guard as it landed softly in the back of the net.
“It was a nice played ball into the box and they had a player who could make a play on it and so did we,” Reuter said. “I was there waiting for a touch, but it just went in.”
“It was a mistake that can’t happen for both parties and we need to shore that up,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “Other than that both Christina and the defense were very good.”
Following Quick’s goal the Terriers stepped up the offensive attack and generated more quality scoring chances. With 26:30 left in the half, junior midfielder Marisha Schumacher-Hodge stole a Dartmouth pass and blasted a shot from outside the box wide right.
Sophomore forward Taleen Dimirdjian had the best of the Terriers’ scoring opportunities with 24:15 remaining, when she misfired on a low header from a Schumacher-Hodge corner kick.
With less than 20 minutes left, junior defender Liz Speck drove a ball toward goal that Dimirdjian headed, but Webb dove to her right to make the save. The best of Dimirdjian’s chances came in the 75th minute, when she got on the end of a curling Schumacher-Hodge free kick but nailed the ball right at Webb.
“I thought Taleen had a wonderful second half and gave us some great minutes,” Feldman said.
In the last 15 minutes of regulation, neither team generated a serious scoring bid, sending the Terriers to their third overtime game of the season. BU had a great chance to earn the victory in the first overtime, when sophomore midfielder Emily Pallotta deflected a Cords free kick toward the goal, but Brown wasn’t able to control the ball and get it on net.
Following Brown’s chance, Dartmouth nearly scored on two free kicks. The first attempt came off the foot of Quick, who launched a ball from 30 yards out over Reuter and off the crossbar. Senior Monica Martin de Bustamante had a chance to nail the rebound, but she missed wide. Minutes later, the Big Green’s leading scorer, Maggie Goldstein, drilled a free kick from outside the box that Reuter was able to deflect out of harm’s way.
In the second overtime, the Terriers managed only one quality scoring chance. Freshman midfielder Brittany Heist, starting her second straight game, took a pass from freshman Lily Albin and nailed a shot just wide left. BU outshot Dartmouth, 14-12, and had a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.
“It was an unbelievable effort and I thought it was a fair result,” Feldman said. “We need to keep working on controlling our emotion while still playing with emotion.”
Injury Report
Freshman forward Tiya Gallegos will most likely miss the rest of the season due to a right leg injury. She will soon undergo an MRI before a final assessment is made. . . . Redshirt freshman goalie Janie Reilly could return from her right leg injury this weekend. . . . Redshirt freshman midfielder Shauna Kelleher will miss at least two more weeks with an undisclosed injury. All reports according to Feldman.
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