The Boston University field hockey team returned home with two victories against its opponents this weekend, taking down two major conference opponents, one of which was nationally-ranked.
On Friday, the Terriers thumped Providence College (0-2) in convincing fashion with a 5-1 win over the Friars, improving their record to 2-1.
“Almost every game, we’ve had a different lineup — we have two different systems that are very effective,” said head coach Sally Starr. “We can change them throughout the game, which adds versatility and makes it more difficult for the other team to adjust.”
Providence struck first with a goal in the 12th minute from sophomore Kasey Bulman, but the Friars did not hold the lead for long. Within the next minute, junior fullback Jacinda McLeod converted a penalty stroke into the Terriers’ first appearance on the scoreboard of the game.
The game remained tied until the second half, when junior midfielder Macey Gaumond scored her second goal of the season on a pass from McLeod. A mere 10 minutes later, sophomore forward/midfielder Dana Centofanti scored her first collegiate goals off a shot rocketed to the middle of the circle by redshirt freshman midfielder/fullback Anne Fruitema.
Less than a minute later, Fruitema returned the favor by redirecting Centofanti’s blast from outside the circle and earning the first goal of her college career. Senior fullback Kate Murphy sealed the deal with a goal shot from the middle of the circle assisted by redshirt freshman midfielder Nell Burdis.
Senior goaltender Julie Collins started in goal and remained in the game to make two saves and allowed just one goal before freshman goaltender Valentina Cerda took over for the last 14 minutes of play to make another pair of stops.
BU took a whopping 25 shots against the Friars, with Guamond taking a game-high five. Providence was only able to muster a mere eight shots against the Terriers. BU also took the lead in penalty corners 9-4.
“We need to win what I call 50/50 balls,” Starr said. “[Providence] was beating us to balls. We need to be locked in and anticipate to enable us to play more aggressively.”
On Sunday, the Terriers expanded their winning streak to three games with a 3-1 victory over Michigan State University, a team that defeated the Terriers 6-1 in their last meeting. BU beat the No. 13 Spartans at Newton Campus Field during its first competition of the season at the team’s second new home field, awarding Cerda her first collegiate victory.
“Michigan State is very good at attacking and Valentina handled that well,” Starr said after the game. “The goal that was scored was not her error.”
Guamond began the game with her fourth goal of the season nine minutes in with a tapped in rebound at the goalmouth. Senior midfielder/fullback Rachael White’s attempted pass was broken up by Michigan’s goalkeeper redshirt sophomore Molly Cassidy.
Guamond made a diving attempt to capture the ball and gained just enough control to tap it in for a goal. The junior midfielder now holds the BU record for most goals this season.
Spartan forward Allie Ahern evened the count with a goal of her own off a penalty corner in the 15th minute off the go-ahead pass from teammate fullback Angie Lucik. Ahern was able to slip the ball past Cerda from the top right corner of the circle.
Senior forward Andrea Greene earned her first goal of the season, which also served as the game-winning goal, in the 27th minute off a pass from the opposite post from junior forward/midfielder Tabi Hatch, locking the game into a 2-1 BU lead to end the first half.
McLeod sealed the game for the Terriers when she drilled a shot from the right side that bounced off a Michigan State stick before finding its way to the backboard.
The Terriers held the Spartans to a mere three shots while making 13 themselves. The Terriers also posted five penalty corners to the Spartans’ 4 and held them to only 1 shot on-goal in the first half. BU made nine shots on goal against the Big Ten team.
“The last three games, we’ve done very well limiting shots,” Starr said, adding that the BU defense is one of the team’s strong points this year. Defensively, we have veteran players with leadership and captains and we have good goaltending with our three different goalies.”
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