After a weekend in which the Boston University women’s soccer team put up 10 goals over two games, some might find it hard to select just one player deserving of the spotlight.
Junior forward Tiya Gallegos scored three goals and added an assist. Junior forward Jessica Luscinski found the back of the net twice. Graduate student Lisa Kevorkian (six points) and freshman midfielder Kylie Strom (three assists) tied single-game school records. The tandem of freshman goalkeeper Kelly King and junior keeper Alice Binns recorded two more blank sheets, stretching the pair’s shutout streak to seven games.
But the bottom line is this: BU (10-5-0, 5-0-0 America East) defeated the University of Hartford, 3-0, on Thursday and then trounced the University of Vermont, 7-0, on Sunday to extend its impressive run to seven straight victories as the squad remained undefeated in AE conference play.
“It’s really tough to play away in conference games,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “We did a great job at Hartford. They were sitting directly behind us and hadn’t lost a game yet. That was really great. [Sunday] on a grass field that sometimes gives us trouble because it’s kind of muddy, soft and a harder surface for us to get comfortable on transition, I thought we did a good job keeping our speed going and scoring goals. It was terrific.”
On Thursday night at Al-Marzook Field, Gallegos opened up the scoring for BU in the fifth minute when she followed up on a shot from senior tri-captain Shauna Kelleher and headed home the rebound to give the Terriers the early 1-0 lead over the Hawks (4-7-3, 1-1-2).
Twenty-six minutes later, the Terriers struck again when Luscinski connected on a free kick from 25 yards out that curved into the upper right 90, just out of the reach of Hartford netminder Lauren Brodeur.
Senior tri-captain Corie Halasz tallied her first goal of the season &- and the seventh of her collegiate career &- in the 61st minute when she unleashed a shot from 18 yards out that found the left side netting, giving BU the 3-0 advantage and closing out the scoring. The Terriers outshot the Hawks, 19-3, and drew seven corner kicks while the Hawks failed to take a corner.
On Sunday at Vermont, four different Terriers scored and BU cruised to a 7-0 rout of the Catamounts (2-12-0, 1-4-0). Luscinski got BU on the board at the 7:30 mark when she converted a penalty kick into the right corner of the goal, leaving Vermont keeper Alyssa Kelly frozen on her line.
In the 17th minute of the contest, Gallegos netted her first goal of the afternoon off a cross from Kevorkian. Gallegos would return the favor less than nine minutes later when she assisted on Kevorkian’s breakaway goal at 25:18.
In the final 45 minutes of regulation, the BU offense would erupt for four more goals, as Gallegos, Kevorkian, junior midfielder Krista Minto and freshman midfielder Emma Clark each scored.
“We’re getting contributions from lots of different players,” Feldman said. “This team may prove to be one of the most talented teams we’ve ever had here. Time will tell, but as of right now, that may be what we’re witnessing &- a team that has solid goalkeeping, is sound at the back, our midfield has been dominant in the conference games and has a ton of kids who are contributing goals and assists. It’s a really balanced team.”
Strom assisted on BU’s last three goals, tying her with 1998 alumna Stacy Schwartz and 2001 alumna Nicole Soules for assists in a game with three. Strom now leads the team with six helpers on the season.
Kevorkian also had a career day on Sunday, totaling six points with two goals and two assists in one game, tying a program record.
“She’s also a great passer, so she sets people up in terrific positions to score themselves,” Feldman said of Kevorkian, AE’s leading scorer with 10 goals. “Our attacking players are learning a lot from her and how she plays the game.”
King and Binns faced limited pressure once again between the posts for BU and combined to make one save against Vermont, compiling their ninth shutout of the 2010 campaign.
With three more wins in a row, BU will set the program record for most consecutive wins in a season with 10. With four more shutouts, BU sets another program record for most blank sheets in a season with 13. And with one more victory, the women’s soccer team picks up its 200th win for the program.
“Those kinds of records and historical events are going to happen at some point when you coach long enough,” Feldman said. “To me, when it happens, it’ll be something to celebrate. Records are nice to celebrate and they’d be nice to celebrate with this team.”
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