Field hockey beats Albany to end regular season

With just 86 seconds left of play at Jack Barry Field for the No. 16 Boston University field hockey team, junior forward Andrea Greene and sophomore midfielder Nicole van Oosterom were not ready to conclude the regular season on a losing note.

Down 1-0 in the 69th minute to University of Maine, Greene deflected van Oosterom’s shot resulting from a penalty corner to tie the game at one, energizing the home crowd and buying 15 extra minutes of playing time for the Terriers and their seniors.

BU did not need much of that time, though, as senior co-captain Maryette Stuart assisted sophomore fullback Jacinda McLeod’s game-winning goal just 1:25 into overtime, giving the Terriers a much-needed 2-1 win.

“It was great,” Stuart said. “It was good to get to overtime, and it was a great ending to go out there and score early.”

The win snaps a three-game losing streak for the Terriers (10-7, 3-2 America East) that included a penalty-stroke loss to conference opponent University at Albany last week. With the victory, BU earns the third seed in next week’s AE tournament.

Another result &- and arguably the more important result &- of the win is the momentum BU gains heading into that all-important tournament.

“We didn’t quit,” said BU coach Sally Starr. “We found a way to win this game today. I think it’s a game where I don’t want to say it is a “must win,’ but it is an important win. You don’t want to go limping into the conference tournament. You want some momentum.”

With 1:18 left in the first half, Maine (13-5, 2-3 AE) jumped ahead with a goal from junior forward Kelly Newton, the only goal senior goalkeeper Amanda Smith allowed in her return. Smith had been on the sidelines since suffering a concussion on Oct. 16. Starr was impressed with Smith’s play, which featured six saves, including several during three straight Maine penalty corners in the 57th minute.

“Amanda had some great saves, particularly in the second half,” Starr said. “[There was] that one shot that was going into the far post, and she really made a great split on it. I’m really proud that she was out for about a week-and-a-half, and I think she’s really had some good practices, so I’m not worried about Amanda being ready.”

Starr called a timeout in the 53rd minute to help her team focus and adjust the offense.

“We just changed our formation a little bit to a more aggressive formation, a more aggressive press,” Starr said.

And more aggressive it was, as BU’s offense picked up steam as the clock ran down before capitalizing with Greene’s goal and forcing overtime. Both of BU’s goals were a result of penalty corners, an aspect of the game that the team has struggled with at times this season.

“We’ve been working a lot on them, and to see it finally work out is really nice,” Stuart said.

The team’s regular-season finale also featured the return of senior forward Allie Dolce, who missed last week’s game versus Albany due to a sickness. Dolce returned to practice on Wednesday and got 65 minutes of playing time in her first game back.

“Allie’s fitness we were concerned about, but she played a lot of minutes here and she played in the overtime,” Starr said. “Allie’s all about heart and all about competing, and we saw that today as well.”

The team’s three senior captains &- Stuart, Smith and Dolce &- were honored in a pregame ceremony. It was mentioned during the ceremony that all three players have been in the program for five years, won three AE titles and made two NCAA tournament appearances, garnering various other athletic and academic awards as well.

Next week, the Terriers will participate in the AE tournament, where they will take on two-seeded Albany in the semifinals. Top-seeded University of New Hampshire is hosting the tournament.

“We just need to work hard all week long and practice hard and be ready to go out there and fight because everyone is going to come out hard to get us,” Stuart said.