In the moments after her team was dealt a tough home loss, Boston University field hockey coach Sally Starr couldn’t help but sum up the game with a simple, eloquent thought: “It was more of what we weren’t doing than what they were doing,” she said.
Starr’s words came after her No. 11 team lost their first home game 1-0 against Boston College Friday night at Harvard University’s Jordan Field.
For Starr, the Terriers’ (3-2) loss to the No. 10 Eagles (5-1) came down to simple, avoidable mistakes.
“We had what I call ‘dribble-itis,’” Starr said. “We held on to the ball too long and allowed them to put on more pressure.”
The game began in BC’s favor when the Eagles scored off a penalty corner within the first two minutes of play. BC midfielder/back Jacqui Moorfield scored her second goal of the season with assists from midfielder Paige Norris and midfielder/forward Courtney Tavener. The ball found its way into the back of the cage after hitting a BU stick.
“It was an unlucky goal,” Starr said. “The goalie is going down and expecting a direct shot and did exactly what she was supposed to do.”
Freshman goalkeeper Valentina Cerda played all 70 minutes and recorded a career-high seven saves against the Eagles. The Terriers kept the Eagles at bay, making BC’s first goal their only goal of the game. In the second half, BU did not allow BC to make a shot for a full 28 minutes.
“Valentina I thought played excellent,” Starr said. “She kept us in the game.”
Junior fullback Jacinda McLeod had four shots, two of them on goal, for the team, the most of any Terrier in the game. Following a penalty corner miss in the second half, McLeod followed with another penalty corner shot that was dead-on, but was blocked by BC goalkeeper Nicole Barry. Barry made a total of three saves against the Terriers.
Senior forward Andrea Greene and junior forward/midfielder Nicole van Oosterom each made a shot on the day and junior forward/midfielder Tabi Hatch had a shot and a shot on goal.
After a slow start, the Terriers were able to pull themselves out of their funk and perform to their abilities.
“The first 20 minutes we were little cones out there,” Starr said. “I was happy that what we were able to do without taking a time out is solve the problem. They were shredding us on our outletting and we were allowing too many people free and too much space.
“We took space away and took the pattern away, which we continued in the second half. They were not able to find the space that they did in the first half.”
Senior midfielder Giovanna Monaco played aggressively throughout the game and provided BU with momentum-changing tackles and stops. Accompanying Monaco on the field was junior forward Leslie Zules, who used her speed to put the ball in place for the Terriers to make a move.
Unfortunately, though, BU was unable to follow through on any of the attempts.
“BC did across the board better at getting the 50/50 balls,” Starr said. “When we were able to do that, that was when we competed better. We were back on our heels a little bit, particularly at the beginning of the game.”
BC recorded 13 shots against the Terriers, with eight of those coming in the first half. The Terriers managed to score only five shots on the Eagles throughout the entire game.
Yet the Terriers were able to keep up with the Eagles in penalty corners, with each team earning three in the first half and the Eagles scoring three again in the second half with the Terriers earning one.
“Last year we won this game and then we tanked and we really struggled,” Starr said. “We need to use this game as a catalyst and continue to work to get better. Our work ethic was not what we needed it to be.”
The Terriers take the field again on Friday, Sept. 16 against Ball State in Ann Arbor, Mich., with a game time set for 1 p.m.
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