The No. 16/20 Boston University field hockey team might have realized something after playing its heart out for 100 minutes but still losing to University at Albany on penalty strokes – it is running out of games to turn this losing streak around.
With only one critical conference game remaining in the regular season against University of Maine, the Terriers (9-7, 2-2 America East) find themselves on a slippery slide, having lost three games in a row, two of them to conference rivals, University of New Hampshire and the Great Danes.
The Terriers last won on October 10, when they walloped Dartmouth College 4-1 and completed their first weekend sweep since the first weekend of September. Although their two wins on the weekend came against the likes of the Big Green and AE cellar-dweller Fairfield University, the two wins that were meant to break up the inconsistent 2-4 record that the Terriers posted from Sept. 12 to Oct. 3.
Unfortunately, the streak ended at two as the Terriers struggled to string any momentum together, and they have been unable to visit the win column since.
The good news for BU is that, despite its loss on Sunday, its 2-2 conference record has already clinched it a spot in the AE tournament, thanks to the abysmal 0-4 conference records posted by University of Vermont and Fairfield. A guarantee of postseason play is a positive for any team as the playoffs have been an opportunity to reverse even the fortunes of teams on tough losing streaks.
Injury woes
Injured players have been a difficult pill to swallow for the Terriers this season as they have lost integral players at difficult times. Junior and sophomore midfielders Giovanna Monaco and Rachael White missed four and two games, respectively, in the middle of the season, and the team had to contend with replacements.
Freshman midfielder Madeleine Hackett stepped up to the challenge and helped to keep the team moving forward, scoring against Dartmouth in place of her injured team mates.
However, other injuries have not been endured as smoothly. Senior striker Allie Dolce &- co-captain to the team and one of three senior players &- did not make the trip with the team to take on Albany on Sunday because of sickness. With Dolce’s leadership and offensive capabilities, the team may have been able to tip the scale of a 1-1 tie that ended in penalty strokes, a result that would have given BU a 3-1 conference mark and left them still vying for the top seed in the AE tournament.
Even more debilitating than the loss of Dolce has been the concussion endured by senior starting goalie Amanda Smith. Smith, who played 717:33 of the team’s first 980 minutes on the season found herself benched indefinitely after suffering a concussion against UNH.
Smith had posted a conference second-best 1.17 goals-against average, and the Terriers’ stingy defense had been touted by BU coach Sally Starr all season long. Losing Smith has forced the Terriers to play sophomore Julie Collins between the pipes. While Collins has proven that she is a capable backup to Smith, posting a conference fourth-best 1.35 GAA, she has been handed the unenviable task of shaking off the cobwebs and playing some of the toughest competition that AE has to offer.
Collins has performed admirably, making seven and nine saves in her two starts since the injury&-a mark that is much greater than the 3.12 average saves per game posted by the team. However, Smith’s experience in goal may have made the difference had she been able to play against Albany, when the Terriers were forced to make saves on penalty strokes in order to win. Collins saved two of four shots, while Albany goalie Kristi Troch stopped all four of the shots she faced.
Out of gas?
After starting the season with a program best 5-0 record, including an exceptional 2-0 shutout against then-No. 7 Boston College, the Terriers looked poised to demolish AE competition. Even when the team began to lose close games to tough foes, they were still outshooting them and earning more penalty corners. A steady defense held opponents to a very limited number of shots on goal, and most every statistic favored the Terriers.
Recently, however, although the Terriers have been losing close games to conference foes, they have also started to surrender their statistical dominance as well. Shot and penalty corner discrepancies have become much closer in recent games. This lapse may be the result of a long season taking its toll on a team that had to use much of its energy to maintain its advantage in earlier games.
This phenomenon can be seen most clearly in the number of saves needed by the goalie in recent games. While the average number of saves per game for the whole season is the aforementioned 3.15, Collins has been forced to make seven and nine saves in her two starts. This ballooning in statistics points to a defense that has not been as effective lately at blocking and preventing shots.
For the first time this season, the Terriers have surrendered their top national ranking in AE to Albany, who eclipse their No. 20 mark at No. 15. The switch in the standings may have to do with the fact that the Terriers have lost their statistical dominance that made them so effective earlier in the season.
The Terriers will have to refill the tank if they are to compete successfully at the end of the season.
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