With shuttle service to Jack Barry Field, free burgers before the match and BU basketball players in attendance, the No. 19 Boston University field hockey team pulled out all the stops for its home opener against No. 10 Boston College. Not even a gray and rainy day could dampen the spirits of the team and its fans.
After a two-week road trip to open the season, it was time for the Terriers to impress fans on their home turf ‘- particularly with a strong offensive performance, something home fans didn’t witness much of last season. Overall, the Terriers did not outscore their opponents in their seven home games, tallying three goals only once and managing one or less four times. This trend was true all season, as BU never scored more than three goals in a game and notched one or fewer in 10 games.
In the Terriers’ first four games this year, the goal production hasn’t been much better. Aside from senior captain Nikki Lloyd’s hat trick against the then-No. 17 University of Massachusetts-Amherst, BU has been shutout once and scored just one goal twice. To remedy the issue in time to appease the home crowd, BU coach Sally Starr’s offensive game plan involved shaking things up a bit.
‘We wanted to have an aggressive press to create good offensive opportunities,’ Starr said. ‘We moved [junior Allie] Dolce to center striker and we were able to create offense from her defense. That was a real positive coming out of this. When we pressed correctly, we won the ball and created good offense.’
But the plan did not come to fruition early in the first half. The Terriers gave up an early goal to BC senior Chelsey Feole and by the 13th minute, the home team was behind, 2-0. At the 16:06 mark, Starr called a timeout and spoke to her players about their performance.
‘I told them that they were doing a lot of good things,’ Starr said. ‘We needed to communicate more, be more loud and engaged. It was too quiet out there. I felt we were playing good hockey, [and we should] not to be discouraged and keep plugging away.’
That pep talk seemed to provide the spark the Terrier offense needed, as less than five minutes later, sophomore Giovanna Monaco knocked in a pass in front of the cage from Dolce for the team’s first goal. The passion persisted as BU earned three-consecutive corners, totaling five in the half, while the Eagles only managed one.
With five minutes to go, BU’s determination was rewarded with a penalty stroke by junior Maryette Stuart, who converted for the equalizer. The momentum carried into the second half when a shot from sophomore Kali Cardoza clanged the top post and Dolce redirected the ball into the net for the go-ahead goal. In regulation, the Terriers outshot the Eagles, 16-13, and held a 10-4 advantage in corners.
‘We got a goal off one [corner], a stroke on one,’ Starr said. ‘We had some good scrambles in front of the net. [But] we needed to anticipate better in spots. We also unloaded unnecessarily early.’
Yet it all fell apart for the Terriers in the extra session. The home team failed to register a corner or a shot in the final frame, while the Eagles earned three-consecutive corners and two shots. The final shot came in the fifth minute of overtime, as Feole sailed one past junior goalkeeper Amanda Smith to seal a hat trick and the victory.
‘In overtime, I feel like we should have taken better care of the ball,’ Starr said. ‘We had too many unforced turnovers.’
Although the Terriers also scored three goals in Sunday’s game at Northeastern University ‘-‘- bringing the weekend’s final tally to six ‘-‘- it’s difficult to call the weekend a success as BU’s opponents put up eight goals.
‘We played good hockey today [against BC],’ Starr said. ‘It just didn’t show on the scoreboard.’
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