The No. 15 Boston University field hockey team has run out of pushovers on their regular season schedule. The Terriers face a strong University of New Hampshire team on Saturday, but after that the competition will only get tougher.
The remainder of the Terriers’ (9-4, 2-0 America East) regular season is challenging, as they face games against the Wildcats (10-4, 2-0 AE), No. 5 University of Connecticut (11-3, 3-1 Big East), No. 18 University at Albany (11-3, 2-0 AE) and University of Maine (10-4, 0-2 AE).
“I think there’s a lot of parity in the conference,” said BU coach Sally Starr. “I think UNH is very good, Albany is very good and Maine is very good. So, we have the heart of the conference remaining on our schedule.”
After running circles around AE cellar dwellers University of Vermont and Fairfield University, defeating both teams by a combined score of 10-0, the Terriers will look to fry bigger fish&- or cats, dogs and bears&- when they face off against their other three conference foes.
In their first real conference test this weekend, the Terriers will have to find a way to contain the Wildcats’ versatile attack. UNH boasts three of the top-10 point scorers in AE in junior strikers Whitney Frates (23 points) and Hayley Rausch (17 points) and senior midfielder Kara Connolly (18 points).
The Wildcats are also strong when it comes to scoring as a result of good passes, exemplified by their conference leading 2.21 assists per game mark. UNH has the top two assist leaders in AE in junior back Kendall Deck and Rausch, who have eight and seven assists respectively.
“They are an excellent transitional team,” Starr said. “They have some really good strikers who have the ability to finish well, and I think that we just have to continue defending well as a team and make sure that we don’t get caught on the counterattack and really make sure that we’re transitioning well from our attack to our defense.
“I think it’s very important that we don’t give them numbers-up rushes. We have to really make sure that at the least we have even defensive numbers. I think if we give them a lot of space they have the ability to hurt you for sure.”
The Terriers will also have to keep their rejuvenated offense rolling as they face junior goalkeeper Katherine Nagengast. While Nagengast is not the highlight of the Wildcat team, she will be the strongest goalie that BU has faced since getting shut out by Duke University on Sunday.
“She’s got good size,” Starr said of Nagengast. “She’s very athletic. Technically, she’s solid. So, we have to do our best to get good looks at her.”
Freshman midfielder Madeleine Hackett had a strong weekend for the Terriers last week as she was named the AE Rookie of the Week after scoring the first goal of the game and her first collegiate goal against Dartmouth College. Starr is confident that Hackett’s strong play will continue against UNH.
“Maddie is just getting better and better and better,” she said. “I think she’s getting more confident. She was a very achieved high school player from Pennsylvania, from a team that had numerous state championships. So, we knew coming in that Maddie would be able to make contributions as a freshman and we’re really pleased with her development.”
Starr stopped short of saying Hackett would start this weekend as BU returns sophomore midfielder Rachael White and junior midfielder Giovanna Monaco from injury.
After the Wildcats, the Terriers will have little chance to relax before a home game on Wednesday against UConn, the highest ranked opponent on their schedule. Starr said that the fact that her team is under pressure late in the year is a good thing.
“I like the fact that we are going to be challenged,” Starr said. “Each week we have to prepare really well for the games that we have, including UConn. They’re an excellent team. I’m glad that we have them at this point in time in the season to challenge us and keep our work effort high in practice and our focus high.”
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