Seniors appropriately took charge Saturday afternoon against the University of Vermont, as the eight graduating players on the Boston University lacrosse team finished up in style after being honored prior to the game.
BU’s success on offense has been based around senior captains McKinley Curro and Traci Landy. Each player has been nominated as America East Fans’ Choice Player of the Year, and both left Nickerson Field on a high note.
Curro scored a career-high six goals, while Landy contributed three goals and two assists. Senior midfielder Jenny Martin also scored a hat trick against the Catamounts.
The Terrier offense saved the best for last, as it exploded for a season-high 19 goals. The number of goals scored was only overshadowed by the success rate of BU’s shots. BU put 20 shots on net during the game, and 19 of them found the back of the net. The Terriers entered intermission with a perfect 13-for-13 shot rate.
BU owes much of its shot success to the passing abilities of senior Xan Weitzel. The Moorestown, N.J. native set a career high and tied a single-game program record with seven assists. Weitzel was a threat from behind the cage as she effortlessly found open teammates cutting towards the net.
While the seniors were the stars of Saturday’s contest, younger players also contributed in the team’s winning effort. Although the Terriers will lose their two offensive juggernauts, the win against Vermont showed that there are be players who will be able to step into the new offensive scoring roles.
“The great thing was yeah, it’s senior day, but it is about the team and it was a team win,” Landy said. “I think we all came together, as you saw by the stats that it wasn’t just the seniors who contributed, and I think our underclassmen really played up.”
Junior midfielder Rachel Collins gave a glimpse of the offensive skills she will display next season, as she will be a probable candidate for captain. Sophomore midfielder Hannah Frey, red-shirt sophomore attacker Catie Tilton and freshman midfielder Kristen Mogavero all recorded two points as well.
“I feel that I have improved a lot over the season,” Mogavero said. “I could definitely attribute that to the seniors, and just learning from them. Today I especially wanted to play just for them, and [that] just gave me that extra bit of motivation.”
Defensively, the Terriers will be without captain Martin and goaltender Rachel Klein. But throughout the 2010 season, fans have seen non-seniors have success on defense, specifically from juniors Corcoran Downey and Kate Cipolletti.
Senior Rachel Klein will be very much missed in net, as she has been the primary netminder for the past three seasons. Nevertheless, BU is in good hands, as freshman Kim Elsworth has proven on numerous occasions, including Saturday, that she is more than capable of taking the reins.
“Kim is great,” Klein said. “She pushes me every day at practice and she is working really hard too, so I know that any time she is definitely capable of going there, making big-time saves, too. Our defense was playing just as aggressive, they felt comfortable with her in there too.”
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