Sunday afternoon, a beautifully bright and cloudless, yet chilly and windy day at Nickerson Field, the Boston University women’s soccer team came through with a 3-1 victory over the Yale University in its final tune-up before America East play.
The game marked a special occasion for BU, as the Terriers retired the number of one of the program’s building blocks, Deidre Enos. Enos, who wore No. 3 during her time on Commonwealth Avenue in the late 1990s, scored 51 goals and was named an All-American.
BU coach Nancy Feldman credits Enos with helping establish the current traditions of the program.
“Dee Enos is a special player and is a special person and now has a really special family with four little ones,” Feldman said. “There aren’t going to be too many retired numbers in the history of a sport at a college and when you do it, it’s pretty meaningful. Dee Enos was a program changer.”
Possibly inspired by the halftime Enos ceremony, the Terriers (7-2-1) took their second straight game from an Ivy League opponent, this time downing the Bulldogs (3-3-0).
BU beat cross-river foe Harvard University on Wednesday, a confidence builder after the Terriers stumbled last weekend when they were handed their first two losses at University of Connecticut and University of Massachusetts.
Feldman saw a remarkable improvement from the road trip, and thought the Terriers were back on the track of their six-game season-opening unbeaten streak. In fact, Feldman said the victory against Yale was the Terriers’ finest of the season, a season that includes multiple victories against ranked opponents.
“It was the best ninety minutes we’ve played,” Feldman said, “You know, we’ve played in spurts in other games, we played well against Portland and we’ve had other parts of games where we’ve seen good things, but this was the best ninety minutes of team play.”
BU opened the scoring quickly, with senior midfielder Brittany Heist finding the net on an unassisted goal in the 10th minute. The goal emerged from the middle of a confusing frenzy in front of the goal following a BU corner kick.
“We kind of ran a short corner and it kind of kept me at the top of the box and [freshman midfielder] Jamie Turchi and [senior forward] Tiya Gallegos both [got] a touch on it, and it bounced out to me,” Heist said. “It was a slow roller, but it went past the keeper. I definitely credit those two for helping keep it in the box.”
The Bulldogs responded quickly, notching their only goal of the game 11 minutes later. Yale midfielder Emma Mullo chipped the ball over sophomore goalkeeper Kelly King for her third goal of the season.
Commenting on King’s performance after the game, Feldman didn’t fault her goalie for allowing the Bulldogs to get on the board.
“It was kind of one of those pause moments,” Feldman said. “How did the kid end up with the ball in the box, no defenders both sides of her, and look down at the ball take a touch?”
Feldman said both teams played a fast tempo game through the first half, but showed signs of fatigue in the second half.
“The tempo slowed down because our movement off the ball wasn’t sharp, therefore you can’t move the ball as well,” Feldman said, “and in transitional moments, there are pauses, it doesn’t stay dynamic.”
The pace of scoring would concur with the coach. Both offenses remained quiet for the next 41 minutes, until Heist struck again for her fourth goal of the season. The Lancaster, N.Y., native sealed the deal for the Terriers by heading the ball into the net off of another of BU’s six corners, this one originating with sophomore midfielder Kylie Strom.
After the game, Heist, who played a role in both of Strom’s goals on Wednesday night, credited her relationship with Strom for their performances.
“We definitely take the time in practice to stay on each other level and push each other, and it’s been great because she’s been finding me and I’ve been finding her,” Heist said. “She’s such an awesome player and just to play off each other is a lot of fun out in the field.”
The Terriers scored one more goal with seconds remaining. Sophomore Madison Clemens kicked the ball from beyond the half line and past Yale goalie Elsie Wilcox to score.
It was the one blemish on Wilcox’s resume in the goal after she entered the game in the 18th minute to replace Adel Jackson-Gibson, who left the game due to injuries sustained from a flying save.
The Terriers now settle in for a well-deserved break before beginning conference play next weekend at University at Albany.
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