They’ve done it eight times before and now they’ve done it again – the Boston University women’s soccer team finished the regular season in first place in the America East Conference for the fifth year in a row, an honor the team earned after a difficult game where the Terriers (16-2-1, 8-0-0 America East) defeated the Hartford University Hawks with a 3-0 shutout.
“This was a great win for us,” said senior midfielder Jessica Luscinski. “Hartford is an amazing team and to come out here, we knew it was going to be a battle. We were up to the challenge and I think it showed.”
Both the Terriers and the Hawks (13-1-3, 6-1-1 America East) came into the game with much at stake.
Holding first and second place in the conference, respectively, the teams have been in a fierce competition for the regular season title since the 1990s. From 1991 to the present, Hartford and BU together have won the regular season 19 times, 10 for the Hawks and now 11 for the Terriers. As for the championship,Hartford has won seven since 1994, trailing BU by one at their eight-year champion status.
However, the Terriers were able to come out on top.
“It feels great,” said head coach Nancy Feldman of another regular season win and undefeated conference record. “It’s hard to do. It’s hard to do it because you have to consistently be at your best when you have the target at your back.
“You pick one on the regular season – I want to be in that position – you have to bring your A-game every game, because everybody is looking to knock off number one.”
As the game began, it was evident that the Terriers were presented with a difficult match on this year’s Senior Day, an annual occurrence where all the graduating members of the team are recognized for their hard work throughout the season. Their hard work wasn’t over, though, as the Hawks put up quite a fight.
Hartford’s sophomore goalkeeper Erin Quinlan had only let in three goals during the entire season before Sunday. However, the Terriers soon changed that record. With a little less than 15 minutes remaining in the first half, freshman forward Taylor Krebs scored the first goal of the game with a header shot, assisted by senior midfielder Brittany Heist.
“I’m happy [to do] whatever I can do,” said Heist, who now leads the team in number of assists this season. “We’ve got forwards and other mids that can put it away, so I’m just happy I can give it to them and they can finish.”
As the match continued into the second half, the Terriers continued to play strong. With just 14 minutes left in the game, Luscinski scored the second goal of the day, with another assist from Heist. Less than three minutes later, senior midfielder Krista Minto put another one in the back of the net with the help of Luscinski, ensuring BU’s triumphant shut out.
“It’s a perfect way to end regular season,” said Minto of her first goal since late August.
Overall, Feldman said she and the team accomplished the majority of their regular season goals including reaching a target number of goals scored and let in, remaining undefeated at home and staying in the rankings once they entered them.
However, that doesn’t mean the season ends here.
“Just about everything’s checked off – for the regular season,” Feldman said. “There’s a lot more season left and we have a lot more goals we want to achieve.”
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