After one month of playing exclusively non-conference opponents, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team will play its first America East game of the season Saturday afternoon when it hosts the University of Vermont.
The Terriers (4-4) are on a three-game win streak that began over spring break and stretched into a 13-8 win over Yale University on Tuesday. BU won the game with a six-goal push late in the second half, elevating its record to .500 for the first time this year.
“[Wednesday], I said after the game the hustle from the kids, that was the best I’ve seen all year, and that’s something I’m going to try to drive home with them from here on out,” said BU coach Liz Robertshaw. “If we can see them play that style of game, I think we’re going to put ourselves in a position to win more and be more competitive.”
With eight goals in the second half – compared to five in the first – the win was another example of a transformation for the Terriers between halves. Nearly 60 percent of the goals BU has scored in the first eight games of the season have come in the second half. The reverse, meanwhile, is true of BU’s opponents, who have scored only 38 percent of their goals in the second half.
However, the late-game production from her team is something that Robertshaw is looking to spread more evenly throughout the game.
“To be honest with you, we’re trying to change that,” Robertshaw said. We don’t want to stop all production, offensively and defensively in the second half, but we want to have that same production in the first half.”
Senior attack Molly Swain and freshman attack Mallory Collins each scored three goals for the Terriers on Wednesday, but junior attack Danielle Etrasco remains BU’s leading goal scorer with 27. Collins, meanwhile, is right behind her with 25 goals. Seventeen of BU’s 47 assists this season have come from senior attack Catie Tilton, including nine in the Terriers’ 18-9 win at Saint Mary’s College last week.
Etrasco is also the best draw controller for BU, winning 24 of the Terriers’ 98 total victories in that category. Senior midfielder Annie Stookesberry and junior defender Brittany Carlin have picked up 11 ground balls each.
Sophomore goalkeeper Christina Sheridan played all 60 minutes in goal for BU on Wednesday, making four saves. Sheridan started all eight non-conference games, earning an 11.15 goals against average while facing 214 shots. She has made 65 saves and allowed 87 goals.
On the other side of the field, Vermont is 6-2 so far this season. The Catamounts’ only losses came against their mutual opponents with the Terriers, the University of Massachusetts and Dartmouth University. The defeats came back-to-back for Vermont, with a four-game win streak preceding and a two-game win streak following to enter Saturday’s game.
Vermont lost to the Minutemen 9-8 in Burlington, Vt., and to the Big Green 13-9 in Hanover, N.H. BU lost to the respective teams 13-11 in Amherst, Mass., and 13-6 in Dartmouth, though the games were not played consecutively for the Terriers.
“Vermont has done a great job of stepping up to the challenge, and they’ve been very strong against common opponents,” Robertshaw said. “They’ve played common opponents better than we have, and [I] feel that’s something we’re taking very seriously and we’re looking to see what changes they made in their attack or what changes they made defensively against those opponents.”
The Catamounts average 15 goals per game and hold opponents to a 10.62 average. Vermont is shooting 42.4 percent, making 120 of 283 shot attempts.
“I think we’re just going to have to limit – maybe I’d like to see us limit the shots – but I’d like more control over where the shots are coming from,” Robertshaw said. “That’s something when we’re paying a good team defense, we’re doing a better job of it.”
Sophomore attack Sydney Mas is one of five Catamounts with a double-digit goal total, but she stands far above her teammates with 27 goals on the season. Her closest teammates are senior midfielder Adison Rounds at 17 goals and senior attack Allison Pfohl at 15. Senior midfielder Samantha Stern is Vermont’s go-to player for assists with 23.
Senior defender Catie Izzo leads the Catamouns with 28 ground balls. Rounds has beaten opponents 31 times in draw controls, 11 more times than any of her teammates.
In goal, senior goalkeeper Laura Barber has found herself in front of the net for all but 1:45 of Vermont’s season. She has made 69 saves and allowed 84 goals.
With BU at a transition point in the season, Robertshaw thinks the Terriers have learned something about themselves in each game they have played.
“It’s a great part of the season, and it’s kind of ironic that we’re 4-4 because I think this is truly the second half of our season,” she said. “In some places we’ve learned a lot, and I think we’ve learned from our losses. I also think we’ve learned a little more about ourselves and what our capabilities are in our wins.
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