With eight games in the record books and nine left to play, the No. 11 Boston University field hockey team is on the cusp of its season's midpoint. And, because its next game on Sunday is against Old Dominion University, winners of only two games thus far, it may appear as if the Terriers will be able to cruise into the second half of their season with an easy win.
Not so fast.
While it may work out that the Terriers (6-2) will secure their seventh win of the season on Sunday, it certainly won't be as easy as it looks on the surface.
If there is one key statistic that speaks to why the Monarchs (2-6) will not be pushovers, it is that each and every one of their games this season has been played against foes ranked in the Top 20 of the Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I poll. Their two wins have come against the likes of then-No. 8 Duke University and then-No. 15 American University, both by scores of 2-1.
"We as a coaching staff and, I think, we as a program, have great, great respect for Old Dominion," said BU coach Sally Starr. "They're really one of the premier programs in the country with the top, if not one of the best coaches in the country in Beth Anders, who was a former national team coach. They are always very well coached. They're very fit. They always play a very difficult schedule.
"We had a great matchup against them last year that we lost in overtime, so I am absolutely sure that we will not be overlooking them at all. Their record means absolutely nothing."
ODU's strength of schedule will not falter this weekend when it takes on the Terriers on Sunday. BU has a lot going for it this year. Not only did it secure a 5-0 record to start the season, the best start in team history, but its has been consistently ranked in the top 20 of the national polls as well as being named No. 8 in the recently published Division I RPI poll.
ODU earned the 14th spot in the RPI poll because of their strength of schedule and their ability to keep up with some of the best teams in the country. Their defense carries a 2.75 goals-against average and their offense has scored an average of 1.25 goals per game. These numbers may not stand up to the statistics that BU has accumulated (1.25 GAA, 1.88 GPG), but again, they have been earned against tough competition.
The Monarchs' attack is led by senior midfielder Loran Hatch, who has scored five of the team's 10 goals. On the other side, junior striker Andrea Greene, whose seven goals are nearly half of the 15 scored by BU through eight games, will lead the BU offense.
Along with strengthening their backline to stop Hatch, Starr also stressed the importance of finishing scoring opportunities.
"We're going to continue to solidify our defense, our recovery, our transitional recovery, and our running lines defensively," Starr said. "That's where we have been vulnerable, where we've been scored upon.
"And then on the flip side, I think we'll really continue to work on our goal scoring. We're not scoring a lot of goals right now. We're creating a lot of scoring opportunities, but we're not finishing them. So, we really need to take a good look at that and work hard in that aspect of the game this weekend."
Starr also commented on the need for a higher scoring percentage on penalty corners, as the Terriers have been adept at forcing the corners but not as skilled at scoring on them. Their four goals in 55 opportunities this season earns them a 7.3 percent conversion rate.
This weekend also marks the first time this season when the Terriers will only face one foe on the weekend.
"It's actually kind of nice just to have one game," Starr said. "It's allowing us to take two days off. We can really kind of catch our breath a little bit, recover from some injuries a little bit."
BU will also have the added advantage of being able to see ODU play Northeastern University on Friday night before suiting up for Sunday afternoon's matchup at 1 p.m.
"We just want to keep our momentum," Starr said. "I would really like to see this team mature to the point that we don't have any road bumps like we had this past week against Northeastern and against Michigan State [University]. I'd like to see us mature and I'd like to see us compete for 70 minutes, and then the result will take care of itself."
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