The Boston University field hockey team will look for its second win of the year against Sacred Heart University on Saturday at Jack Barry Field.
Sacred Heart (1-5), like BU (1-5), has had a bit of a rough start to the season, so both teams will be looking to prove themselves and turn their luck around on Saturday.
Last weekend was a difficult one for the Terriers, as they dropped consecutive 4-3 games to local rivals then-No. 9 Boston College and unranked Northeastern University. The first game was decided in overtime, and the second on a corner in the last few minutes of regulation. So, while the Terriers have been generating sufficient offense and playing decently overall, they have usually been unable to stop opponents from scoring at crucial times.
BU coach Sally Starr noted after Sunday’s game that BU should be proud of its offensive output, because Northeastern had played No. 7 Syracuse University a few days earlier and only given up two goals. The Huskies then allowed three goals to the Terriers, who have fallen out of the top-20 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association rankings.
‘We’re scoring goals,’ Starr said. ‘We’re just giving up bad ones.’
Overall, BU has outshot its opponents so far this season, 77-63, and also holds the edge in penalty corners, 48-32. The fact that the Terriers have allowed 17 goals while only scoring 11, in spite of that advantage, further illustrates the fact that their defense, as a whole, is the team’s biggest weakness.
Sacred Heart, so far, has had similar defensive problems, allowing a staggering 21 goals in its first six games. In addition, it has managed to score only eight goals in those six games, and has been shut out twice, against No. 18 Northwestern University and unranked Davidson College.
The Pioneers lost 5-0 to Northwestern, who only beat BU in overtime by a score of 2-1, which would implicate BU as the stronger team. However, such statistics cannot always be relied upon, and the Terriers should not underestimate the Pioneers, who are coming off of a 4-3 overtime victory over unranked Bucknell on Sunday.
While it is still technically early in the season, BU has a road trip and a potentially tough stretch of games coming up after Saturday’s game. The team will travel to New Hampshire to play Dartmouth College Sunday, then to Virginia to play the No. 5 University of Virginia on Friday and No. 15 Old Dominion University on Sunday.
The conclusion of that road trip will bring the Terriers to the approximate midpoint of the season, by which point they will certainly hope to have more than one or two wins under their belt. Earning a victory against Sacred Heart would allow the Terriers to enter the trip with some useful momentum on their side, and perhaps increased confidence in their abilities as a team as well.
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