In its first game against a ranked opponent this season, the No. 10 Boston University lacrosse team fell to No. 5 Syracuse University, 17-8, on Wednesday. Continuing a stretch of three games versus nationally ranked opponents, the Terriers (2-1) hope to rebound when they return home Saturday to face No. 11 Vanderbilt University (1-2) at 1 p.m. on Nickerson Field.
‘We want to just put that [Syracuse] game behind us and focus on the next one,’ BU coach Liz Robertshaw said. ‘We’re going to work on the smaller parts in practice like ball control, keeping possession.’
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt also comes into the game following a loss ‘- a 22-10 drubbing courtesy of No. 1 Northwestern University. Because their game at Virginia Tech on March 3 was cancelled due to poor conditions at Virginia Tech’s facilities, the Commodores have not played since Feb. 27 and will take their first road trip of the season when they come to Boston on Saturday.
Both teams enter the game with high-powered offenses and underperforming defenses. After earning honors as the America East Player of the Week, BU’s senior captain Sarah Dalton was held scoreless in the last contest. The Commodores also hope to limit the All-American midfielder, who enters the game with a team-leading 10 goals on the season, including her explosion for a school-record eight goals against the College of William & Mary last Saturday.
Another key to the Terriers’ offense this year has been junior Xan Weitzel, who tallied six points in each of the season’s first two games, including the game-winner against William & Mary, and added two more assists against Syracuse. Her 14 points total leads the team.
For Vanderbilt, junior Sarah Downing leads the attack, matching Dalton’s total of 10 goals so far. She also has three assists.
‘They go hard in the midfield into the attack,’ Robertshaw said. ‘They have great goal scorers, such as Downing, so we need to play good defense.’
The Terriers plan to slow Downing and the rest of the Commodores’ offense by double-teaming more often. They hope to improve on the 15.5 goals per game scored against junior goalie Rachel Klein the past two games.
‘We need to tighten up on defense,’ Robersthaw said. ‘[Klein] is seeing too many shots.’
In the game against Syracuse, the Orange peppered the net with 33 shots, far above the average of 22 shots per game that Klein faced last season. In the three games this season, opposing teams have averaged 26 shots against the Terriers.
Vanderbilt has also struggled in the net. The Commodores platoon freshman goalie Natalie Wills and senior Rachel Woolford, but neither has had much success. Combined, the goalies have a 13.66 goals-against average and the Commodores have been outshot, 111-104, on the season.
Although it is still early in the season, this matchup between two lacrosse powerhouses could be a huge indicator for how the year will play out for both teams. A loss by either signals a trend of losing to ranked opponents, which could mean a disappointing finish in the NCAA Tournament, while the winner will likely remain near the top 10 in the national rankings.
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