The Boston University field hockey team will play its final home game of the regular season this Friday at 3 p.m. against Providence College.
The Terriers (7-10) are coming off of a tough 2-0 loss to No. 16 University at Albany last Saturday and are looking to finish the season on a high note. While Providence (8-9) is not a conference rival, a win would carry the Terriers into their last regular-season game against the University of Maine on Sunday with momentum and confidence.
Providence, like BU, is unranked in the national standings. However, it has put together a solid season, with its only defeat by more than two goals coming at the hands of the No. 7 University of Connecticut. The Friars are also on a three-game winning streak, losing last to No. 5 Wake Forest University on Oct. 17.
The Terriers are on a two-game losing streak but are 4-3 overall in October, and their play in general has improved since the beginning of the season, when they beat Providence 1-0 in their first scrimmage of the year. To repeat that performance, they will need more consistent offense than they were able to manufacture against Albany, one of the only opponents to outshoot the Terriers this year.
‘I think we need to make sure we’re playing with more collective energy, offensively and defensively, [than we did against Albany],’ BU coach Sally Starr said. ‘We need a passion we can keep for 70 minutes, collectively. That’s a major thing we need to take care of, and if we do that I really feel that we can play very good hockey and be successful.”
With the start of the America East Tournament just over a week away, BU is focusing its practices on both the upcoming game and how it can continue to prepare for the playoffs.
‘We have a good opportunity right now to really work on our fitness,’ Starr said. ‘So we’ve had some very difficult practices.
‘Lately we’ve had a lot of mid-week games and back-to-back games, so we’ve practiced very hard Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week to build our fitness towards the conference tournament. The biggest thing is trying to get ready for Providence, but we are really focusing on our fitness right now, and just continuing to work towards getting better each game.’
Increased endurance will undoubtedly serve the Terriers well considering the way their offense declined over the course of the Albany game when the team fired six shots in the first half, then only two, without a single corner opportunity, in the second. Providence senior goalkeeper Rachel Chamberlain was just named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week after posting two shutouts for the Friars last week, so the Terriers will need to return to an offense-oriented game in order to challenge her.
Prior to Friday’s game, the senior members of the Terriers will be honored, including co-captains Nikki Lloyd and Haley Robinson. Lloyd has been a strong offensive force for BU throughout her time on Commonwealth Avenue, and Robinson leads all current Terriers with 67 career starts. A continued high level of play from those two players will be instrumental in the Terriers returning to the America East finals, after losing in the semifinals last year.
While Sunday’s game at the University of Maine will determine the Terriers’ final standing in the conference, the Providence game is an important one, if only for BU to solidify their approach to the postseason and practice the strategies it has perfected over the season against one last non-conference opponent.
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