On Tuesday, the Boston University women’s soccer team found itself in Soccer America’s Top 25 poll for the first time since 2006, as it is now ranked No. 22 in the country.
“It’s great to be recognized in those polls,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “To get that kind of publicity helps our program. People do take a look at those polls. It’s our soccer media and soccer fans who look at that stuff. Having Boston University appearing on that list certainly helps us get the word out on how strong we think our program has been consistently. It’s nice to be awarded with that recognition.”
BU’s early non-conference slate featured five nationally ranked opponents in No. 20 South Carolina University, No. 1 Stanford University, No. 19 Boston College, then-No. 22 College of William &’ Mary and No. 5 University of Virginia.
The Terriers (15-5-0, 8-0-0 America East) upset William &’ Mary, 3-1, back on Sept. 10 in the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic. BU suffered narrow one-goal losses to the Gamecocks, the Cardinal and the Eagles all at Nickerson Field. The Cavaliers were the last squad to hand the Terriers a loss, defeating them by a score of 3-0 on Sept. 12.
BU heads into Saturday’s AE championship match against the University of Maine in the midst of a 12-game winning streak &- all shutouts &- after beating the University at Albany, 2-0, last Sunday in the AE semifinal round.
“The fact that we’re rated this late in the season is even more impressive and I’m more proud of that,” Feldman said. “It means that we’re finishing strong and that’s really what you want to do in any sport &- be playing your best soccer at the end of the year during tournament time and hopefully it takes you deep into the America East tournament. Hopefully, if we’re fortunate enough on Saturday, we’ll secure the victory and go onward into the NCAA tournament. To be rated this late in the season is outstanding.”
AE scoring champ
Graduate student forward Lisa Kevorkian has had quite the season for BU in 2010.
In her first year donning the scarlet-and-white for the Terriers, the 5-foot-6 transfer from the University of California, Berkeley led all conference players in almost every major offensive category. She is tops in AE in total shots (20), shots per game (3.55), points (31) and tied for fourth in assists with five on the year.
As BU’s regular season came to a close on Oct. 24 against Maine, Kevorkian claimed AE’s goal scoring title as she tallied 13 goals &- three more than teammate and junior forward Jessica Luscinski who was second in the conference with 10 goals.
Kevorkian’s transition from playing in the Pac-10 Conference with California to AE with BU has been a smooth ride.
“Lisa is a kid who came here very open to adapting to a new team, new environment, new culture and a new coach,” Feldman said. “It was a conscious and mindful choice that she made to make the change. Everything about Boston is different from Berkeley. She was very conscious of the fact that things were going to be different. She seamlessly grew into an effective team member because she brought her skill set but was open-minded about doing things the way we wanted to do things.”
Hello again
For the second time in less than three weeks, BU will host Maine (9-8-0, 5-6-0 AE) at Nickerson, but this time around there’s even more at stake when these two teams meet up on Saturday: the AE championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
With four days left to prepare for the Black Bears this week at practice, Feldman knows what BU must do to prevail over Maine for the second time in as many games this season.
And it all starts with style.
“We’re going to have to play with excellent speed of play to play our style to open the game up,” Feldman said. “We have to play the style that people have come to expect from us on Nickerson Field where we pass the ball real well, find open players and get the ball into the final third for our dynamic attack. But we’re going to have to work really hard to get that. We’re preparing to play against that type of team. We’ll be ready.”
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