The Boston University women’s soccer team has played flawlessly in the America East conference this season. One would have to go all the way back to the 2007 season to find its most recent tie and loss in conference play.
The streak continued for the Terriers as they defeated the University at Albany, 3-0, Sunday afternoon at Varsity Field. BU (9-4-2, 5-0-0 AE) continued its dominance over conference opponents and increased its winning streak to seven games. Albany’s (6-7-1, 1-2-1 AE) offensive woes continued – it failed to score more than one goal for the seventh-straight game.
BU struck first midway through the opening half. Senior back Casey Brown, from a set piece, kicked the ball into the Albany box, where freshman forward Adrienne Anderson headed it to freshman midfielder Jessica Morrow. She tapped it past Albany sophomore goalkeeper Cate Crenson for the goal.
The first half was pretty evenly played, with BU outshooting Albany, 9-6, and both keepers making three saves. The second half was completely lopsided, as BU showed why they are the best team in America East.
A little over two minutes into the second half, the Terriers padded their lead to two goals. Sophomore midfielder Jessica Luscinski sent a beautiful cross from the right side of the net to senior midfielder Emily Pallotta, who headed the ball just inside of the post.’
Pallotta, who was just named America East Co-Player of the Week, leads the team with five goals. She’s tied with Luscinski for first on the team with 12 total points.
Morrow scored her second goal of the afternoon, heading in a corner kick from the foot of senior forward Farrell McClernon, to give BU a 3-0 lead. Morrow’s tallies against Albany were the first and second goals of her Terrier career.
BU outshot the Great Danes 17-2 and had a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks in the second half.
The Terrier offense has exploded the last few games, tallying 11 goals in three contests, and placing them third in the conference for goals scored per game. Though only third in the conference in scoring, they have many players who are a threat to put the ball in the back of the net. BU has eleven different players who have scored a goal, seven of whom have two or more.
Senior goalie Janie Reilly continued her strong play on Sunday afternoon. Albany’s leading scorer, freshman Chelsea DeVerna, broke through the Terrier defense early in the game, but Reilly got off her line and made a great sliding save with her foot to keep the game scoreless.
Reilly’s biggest skills, according to BU coach Nancy Feldman, are her poise in net and her ability to come off the line quickly. When you do not face many shots, the ability to stay constantly poised is vital and very hard to achieve. Her ability to come off the line has been on display all season, and it showed when she kept BU in the game early Sunday afternoon.
BU has such a good defense that if one would look at the low number of saves Reilly has made this year, it would be deceiving. She leads America East with a 0.62 goals against average and an .860 save percentage
The Terriers’ defense, led by two-time America East Defender of the Year Casey Brown, has been able to shut down conference opponents almost at will. In their five conference games so far this season, BU has only let up two goals, both against the University of Maine on the road.
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