The Boston University field hockey team has taken its lumps with one of the most difficult schedules in the country over the first six weeks of the season. Now standing at 3-7 on the year, and a week after two narrow road losses to ranked teams, the Terriers are set to begin America East play at home Saturday against the University of Vermont before a trip to No. 13 Duke University.
‘We have played a really difficult schedule in September,’ BU coach Sally Starr said. ‘I think what we learned from this weekend is that we really can play with anyone in the country. We had two excellent games against two outstanding teams and I think the biggest thing is that we really feel we’re more than well prepared for conference play.
‘We’ve gotten better, better and better through the month and we’re just really looking forward to the month of October and starting conference play.’
First up are the Catamounts (1-9), who have the worst record in the conference so far. An anemic offense has scored only nine goals this year, giving little help to senior goalkeeper Kristen Heavens, who leads the conference in saves. But none of this matters when Vermont plays BU, as these teams always match up against each other, including in the season finale at Vermont last season that ended in 2-1 BU win.
‘UV’s always a good team. [It’s] a very good contest,’ Starr said. ‘Vermont is always very fast. They play very hard ‘-‘- they’re a well-coached team. They really attack with a lot of energy and they defend well as a team. They have an outstanding goalie, a big, tall athletic girl who’s very, very good. And our Vermont games are always well-played, hard-fought contests and that’s what I’m expecting for Saturday.’
Sunday brings the Blue Devils (5-4), another team with a deceiving record on account of a tough slate. Duke has faced three top-10 teams in No. 2 University of North Carolina, No. 4 Wake Forest University and No. 8 Michigan State University, defeating only the latter. Senior Amie Survilla leads a high-flying attack with an astounding 14 goals on the year. Duke defeated BU last season at home, 2-0.
‘Duke is another opportunity to play a premier ACC team, one of the premier teams in the country,’ Starr said. ‘We’re really looking forward to success in October, and for us, it’s take it one game at a time, conference game on Saturday and then a national opportunity on Sunday.’
As they enter the second half of the season starting this weekend, the Terriers will need to mentally clean their slate, take the lessons they’ve learned from facing top competition and stay focused both in conference if they want to return to the NCAA tournament.
‘What I really like about this team right now is that they’re not discouraged,’ Starr said. ‘I think they’re realistic about what they’ve been up against. I think we also feel that we let a few games get away from us that we could have won. We’re looking forward to October. It’s a new start for us.’
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