The Boston University lacrosse team takes a break from its conference schedule today to play an UnderArmour Power in Pink breast cancer awareness game against cross-town rival Boston College at 4 p.m.
BC hosts the game in memory of Joanne Fitzpatrick, the mother of senior tri-captain Lauren Fitzpatrick who passed away last fall. The Terriers have been involved in breast cancer awareness with the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and this Power in Pink game represents another awareness-raising event the BU lacrosse team has participated in over the past few years.
‘This is just a great step we’re taking in making sure that this cause is definitely something that’s in the media,’ BU coach Liz Robertshaw said. ‘[Fitzpatrick] was a player I recruited ‘-‘- she’s a great athlete, a great person, and we took the loss of her mother personally here at BU. We wanted to be involved in this game because of our relationship with BC, with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and with the Fitzpatrick family, being so close to them in the recruiting process as well as just watching Lauren play.’
Not only is the game being played for a great cause, but it is also part of something very important to the Boston University athletes and fans ‘-‘- the Green-Line Rivalry. Even without conference standings on the line, Robertshaw said her team is looking forward to the game simply because of what it means to the BU community.
‘[Today] is all about the BU-BC rivalry,’ Robertshaw said. ‘We see it in ice hockey, we see it in women’s ice hockey and we see it with the soccer teams. But it’s something that’s alive and well in lacrosse. It’s always a grudge match. It’s the best of Boston. It will be a hostile environment, but we’re excited for it. It’s all about the B-Line Rivalry and really going and bringing our best game to Boston College.’
Today, the Terriers (8-3) will have to continue what they’ve been doing all season long ‘-‘- breaking down the opposing team’s defense with their high-powered offense. The Eagles (7-5) have shown this season that they are able to shut teams down, holding teams to 10 goals or fewer six times this season. Senior goalkeeper Katie Monaghan has been key to BC’s defense with a .502 save percentage.
‘BC is strong on both ends of the field,’ Robertshaw said. ‘Defensively, they have pretty much been a shut-down defense. They’ve kept the scores relatively low, especially with their rivals the [University of North Carolina] and [University of Virginia]. [Monaghan] is a tough goalkeeper, and we’re going to have to shoot well to get shots by her.’
Senior captain Sarah Dalton continues to be an offensive force for the Terriers, and enters today’s game just one point shy of tying BU’s all-time career scoring record, held by Chrissy Lombard.
Dalton was named the America East Player of the Week for the second week in a row after scoring 13 goals in two contests last week against the University of New Hampshire and Stony Brook University. She has scored 54 goals this season and leads the nation with 4.56 goals per game.
In order for BU to come away with a win, the Terrier defense will have to hold off BC’s high-paced attack.
‘They have a bunch of scoring threats,’ Robertshaw said. ‘They have some very good and strong attackers that are taking it to cage, and that’s something we have our mark-up defenders ready for. We have to slow them down. We need to hold them the way we’ve done in the past. If we can do that and give the attack a lot of opportunities with the ball, it’s going to help us out more and more.’
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