The Boston University field hockey team will carry a two-game winning streak, tied for its longest of the year, into its third conference game Saturday against the University of New Hampshire.
UNH (8-5, 1-1 America East) is tied with the University of Maine for second in the America East conference, while BU (6-8, 2-0 AE) is tied with the University at Albany for first. While not a nationally-ranked team, UNH has had a strong season, and is certainly in the running to make the America East playoffs for the third straight year.
Last year, the Wildcats made it all the way to the conference final only to be edged out by the University at Albany. However, they have not won a conference championship since 1998. In that time, the Terriers have won five titles, and have often met the Wildcats at some point during the playoffs.
But history only matters so much once the game begins, and the more significant factors in Saturday’s game could include players such as freshmen Nicole van Oosterom, who was named the America East Rookie of the Week this past week, and Jacinda McLeod, whose two goals against Harvard University on Wednesday lifted the Terriers to victory. McLeod, a back, and van Oosterom, a midfielder, have been key players for the Terriers all year, and their contributions will be necessary for the Terriers to win these last three crucial conference matchups.
The Wildcats and Terriers play a similar offensive-oriented style ‘-‘- both teams have outshot their opponents this season by dramatic margins (240-163 for UNH, 203-128 for BU) and earned more corners as well (89-66 for UNH, 106-75 for BU). These statistics predict an up-tempo, back-and-forth battle on Saturday, with both junior Terrier goaltender Amanda Smith and sophomore Wildcat goalie Katherine Nagengast, as well as the defenders in front of them, being forced to perform at a high level to keep their respective teams in the game.
The Wildcats, like the Terriers, are on a winning streak, their most recent victory coming against the unranked University of Michigan in overtime, 3-2, last Sunday in Cambridge. Though their schedule has not included as many highly ranked opponents as the Terriers’ this year, they have had a strong season as usual.
BU Coach Sally Starr has made it clear in the past that the America East conference is a talented one all around, and that no conference game should be taken lightly. Though the Terriers have outscored their rivals, 7-0, in conference play so far this season, UNH has a better overall record and is arguably a tougher team than either of the others they have faced.
However, the early part of the Terriers’ season, in which they played national powerhouses such as the No. 1 University of Maryland and No. 9 Boston College, should have prepared them well to play against their conference foes, out of whom only the University at Albany is ranked (No. 18). They have defeated the No. 10 University of Massachusetts-Amherst and come within two goals of the No. 3 University of Virginia; now they must apply the lessons they have learned in out-of-conference play to the final and most important stretch of their schedule.
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