Coming off it’s first loss since mid-March, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team will aim to remain undefeated in conference play and control first place in the part two of its three-game home stand on Saturday.
The Terriers (8-5, 4-0) will host Stony Brook University (11-3, 3-0) in their first game since snapping a seven-game winning streak against Boston College on Wednesday, an 18-9 loss. Both BU and Stony Brook are undefeated against America East opponents, though the Terriers have played one more game in that category than the Seawolves.
“I think we need to show we can bounce back and come out and play a strong game against Stony Brook,” said BU coach Liz Robertshaw after practice Friday afternoon. “It is, you know, for first place, and I think that’s important. I don’t think we’re going to shy away from that and I know Stony Brook is thinking the same thing.”
The Eagles were in control of Wednesday’s game from the start, opening up a large lead by the end of the first half, and then slowing play by maintaining possession in the second half to hang on for the victory.
“I know our team was disappointed in how we played and how we executed and I know we want to do better,” Robertshaw said of the loss.
Freshman attack Mallory Collins led BU with three goals in the game, while junior attack Danielle Etrasco – the Terriers’ leading goal scorer – only put the ball in the net once. Sophomore goalkeeper Christina Sheridan played all 60 minutes in front of the cage, making nine saves despite allowing 18 goals.
In conference play, BU beat University at Albany, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and the University of New Hampshire in the final four games of the seven-game run to earn its perfect record. The Seawolves, meanwhile, beat Binghamton University, UMBC and the University of Vermong to build their own perfect conference schedule.
Stony Brook enters the contest on a six-game streak of its own, most recently extended with a 12-8 home win over Yale University on Wednesday in its own break from conference play.
“They’re a team that goes hard, scores a lot of goals, and has a lot of confidence in winning,” Robertshaw said. “I think they are a confident team and we’re going to have to play a really strong game against them just to slow them down.”
Junior midfielder Demmianne Cook leads the Seawolves with 55 goals in all 14 of Stony Brook’s games, but junior attack Clarie Petersen – a transfer from Adelphi University – leads the team in points at 75, with 31 goals and a whopping 44 assists in just 12 games. Between Cook and Petersen on the scoring sheet is junior midfielder Janine Hillier at 39 goals.
Cook also leads the team with 25 ground balls. Freshman midfielder Michelle Rubino has caused SBU opponents to turn the ball over 18 times and won 74 draw controls.
In goal, junior Hannah Perruccio and sophomore Frankie Caridi have split time between the pipes. Caridi has played in and started nine games for a total of 438:35. She has allowed 53 goals and made 43 saves. The other 401:25 across nine games and five starts belong to Perruccio, who has allowed 75 goals and made 33 saves.
Robertshaw said that both teams are gunning for the same thing, and Saturday presents a chance to argue with one another for it.
“This is what we’re going for,” Robertshaw said. “You’re trying to get home field advantage in the tournament, you know, to kind of make your case for that.”
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