After suffering two loses in its first two games, the Boston University lacrosse team will continue its search for the Terriers’ first win of the season in Fairfax, Va. on Saturday, when BU plays George Mason University.
The Terriers suffered loses at the University of Massachusetts and at Harvard University last week to begin the season. BU was scheduled to play Yale University on Wednesday at Nickerson Field, but the storm that swept through the northeast that evening forced the game to be rescheduled.
“After seeing the weather out and Connecticut and obviously up here, we’d been talking since, I’d say mid-day Tuesday with Yale,” said BU head coach Liz Robertshaw. “Part of it was about could we get the game in from our perspective and the officials, which we felt pretty confident about, and then the second part – which ended up being the deciding factor – was the safety of getting up here from Yale.”
Instead of getting into a dogfight with the Bulldogs, the Terriers had a normal workout and study session, and then returned to the practice field on Thursday.
Robertshaw said the team has emphasized both offense and defense in preparations over the past week, trying to refine its approach to scoring goals while looking for a win.
“We have to continue to work on our attacking scheme, and making sure we feel confident in the way we are playing right now as a team, and how we are attacking the goal,” Robertshaw said. “And then tomorrow, we’ll work more defensively, trying to slow down George Mason and some of the scorers that they have.”
Through their two losses to start the season, junior attack Danielle Etrasco has led the Terriers in scoring with eight goals. Etrasco is also the primary winner of draw controls for the Terriers, with seven so far.
Freshman attack Mallory Collins began her first game on the bench, but emerged to score five goals on eight shots over past two contests.
“I think for a freshman to come in and become a scoring leader is something that we definitely talked to Mallory about when she came here,” Robertshaw said. “I think she’s handled the pressure well. I think she’s learning our style of attack better, and she’s seeing some open looks. But I also think it’s something that we’re going to need her to continue to play at a higher level.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Christina Sheridan has played in net for the entirety of both of the Terriers’ games, stopping 17 shots and allowing 24 goals. She has also picked up six ground balls for BU, four more than any of her teammates.
“As of right now, we’ve seen some nice things from Christina,” Robershaw said. “I think she’s playing we’ll, she’s making great saves.”
George Mason won its season opener against Saint Francis University 19-9, but then lost its next three games to Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and George Washington University.
Senior attack Mary Schwartz has scored eight goals and recorded two assists for George Mason so far this season, while junior midfielder Caitlin Formato has notched one less goal, but the same number of assists. Senior midfielder Emily Ellisen leads the Patriots with 14 shots on goal and14 draw controls. Senior defender Kiersten Jauschnegg has the most ground balls for George Mason, at 12.
In goal, junior Brittany Pastrana has stood between the pipes at the beginning of all four of the Patriots’ games. She has allowed 46 goals, while stopping 33 shots.
Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Teague played in the net for 38:04 over two games, allowing six goals and stopping three shots.
Since 2003, when they first played one another, George Mason and BU have faced off eight times, with each squad earning four wins. The two schools met last year, when BU emerged with a 10-9 win after three overtimes at Nickerson Field.
For Robertshaw, playing George Mason is a special experience. She graduated from the university in 1998, and said playing her alma mater allows her to show what she learned while she was a Patriot.
“I love it,” Robertshaw said. “I think there’s always a certain amount of pride when you go home to want to show well. I think from a coaching standpoint, I owe a lot of my career to George Mason and what they did down there for me, both coaching as well as the support staff.”
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