BU loses, 2-0, to No. 18 Albany

The Boston University field hockey team was unable to clinch first place in America East on Saturday, losing 2-0 to the No. 18 University at Albany.

Albany (12-3, 4-0 AE), who before Saturday were sharing the top spot in the conference with the Terriers (7-10, 3-1 AE), wrapped up its second straight regular-season championship, as well as home-field advantage for the America East Tournament, with the victory.

Saturday was the first time the two teams met after Albany knocked BU out of last year’s America East semifinals in a 1-0 heartbreaker. The Great Danes became the first team to keep the Terriers out of the finals since 2003, a memory that is surely still fresh in the minds of the Terriers’ returning players.

BU registered six shots in the first half, but junior Albany goalkeeper Christine Hoffman, who has the best goals-against average in the nation (0.13) and an overall save percentage of .966, shut them down, giving her team a chance to take the lead with just under two minutes left in the half. Freshman Inge Baijens scored what would ultimately be the game winner to give the Great Danes the lead.

Baijens’s tally, coming at the end of a hard-fought half to swing momentum Albany’s way, may have deflated the Terriers somewhat, as they only managed two shots and one corner in the second half ‘- a rarity for a BU team that usually outshoots its opponents, even in losses. This time, the Great Danes held the advantage in shots, 9-8. Albany junior Alysia Hough scored at 46:42 to secure the lead, and replacement goaltender Kristi Troch was not forced to make a save during the entire second half.

The loss renders the Terriers unable to finish the year above .500 because they have only two games remaining in the regular season.

But as BU coach Sally Starr has stressed throughout the season, the Terriers are indeed a young team, often benefiting from and relying on game-changing contributions from freshmen and sophomores just as much as upperclassmen.

Many of their most valuable players will be able to take the lessons from both wins and losses this year and apply them to next year. Players such as freshmen Jacinda McLeod and Nicole van Oosterom, who are second and third on the team in scoring, are just beginning their collegiate careers, and, thanks in part to the strong competition they have faced this year, will surely be some of the team’s most important players in years to come.

Though their record, whether they win or lose their final two games, could be seen as below par, BU’s overall success is less important than their conference play at this point. And apart from Saturday’s game, their conference play has been indicative of positive things. With only two games left before the tournament, the Terriers will be concentrating on returning to the America East final after last year’s disappointment.

The Terriers are now tied for second place in the conference with the University of Maine, against whom they will close the season on Nov. 1. However, first they face Providence College, who, like the Terriers, have hovered around the outskirts of the national rankings for most of the year. Providence will visit BU on Friday at 3:00 p.m., and the Terriers’ senior members will be honored before the start of the game.