After a disappointing 1–0 loss to The College of William & Mary on Friday night, the No. 12 Boston University field hockey team travelled out to Amherst to take on No. 25 University of Massachusetts despite the tough playing conditions.
“It was an important game that we needed to get back in the saddle.” said BU coach Sally Starr.
The Terriers (6–2) stepped up in the spotlight of the crucial game, using a goal from freshman forward Rachel Coll in the second overtime frame to take a 3–2 win over the Minutewomen (3–5).
Within the first minute of the game, it seemed as if the previous two games were going to repeat themselves, with the Terriers on the losing side.
In 45 seconds, the Minutewomen took a 1–0 lead.
It was not until the 18th minute that the Terriers answered with a goal of their own.
Senior forward Nicole Van Oosterom scored the team’s first goal off of a corner with the assist coming from junior midfielder Ella Gunson.
“The one thing I really like about this team is the maturity we have. There was plenty of time.” Starr said.
Unfortunately for the Terriers, Massachusetts regained the lead during the 22nd minute when senior Nicole Cordero got a goal past sophomore goalkeeper Valentina Cerda Eimbcke.
BU was not going to let the game go to halftime without a fight though.
Shortly before halftime, Gunson earned her second assist of the day by setting up senior Jacinda McLeod for a goal, tying the game at 2–2.
Going into the second half, it seemed as if the Terriers took the lesson they learned from the loss to No. 2 Syracuse University and went into attack mode in the second half.
During the final 35 minutes of regulation, BU got the ball across midfield and into Minutewomen territory on several occasions.
However, the Terriers were unable to capitalize on any of the opportunities presented.
By the end of regulation, the Terriers outshot the Minutewomen 18–8. BU also held a 11–3 advantage when it came to corners.
Because of the team’s inability to capitalize in the second half, BU was forced to participate in its fourth overtime game of the season.
“I think we had a lot of momentum,” Starr said about the team’s attitude going into overtime. “We were in attack mode. We had a lot of shots and near misses in the second half and created a lot of offense, so we felt confident.”
The first overtime period went in similar fashion for the Terriers as they took seven more shots and earned two more corners than their opponents, but failed to score.
At the start of the second overtime, BU kept their attack mentality going as Ella Gunson got her third assist of the day when she set up freshman forward Rachel Coll for a goal 51 seconds into the period to give Boston a 3–2 lead.
“It was about time,” Coll said after the game. “I felt good especially in double overtime.”
The three assists on the game doubled Gunson’s assist total on the year, as she now leads the team with six assists.
Gunson’s six assists make up two-thirds of the team’s total assists, as only she, Coll, senior midfielder Kiley Allosso and junior midfielder Kat Spring have assists for the Terriers on the year.
While she only converted on one of them, McLeod led the team with four shots on Tuesday.
This total added to her team-lead of 34 shots on the season, which is 19 more than van Oosterom’s second-place total.
With the win on Tuesday afternoon, the Terriers were able to snap their two-game losing streak that started back when they faced the Orange on Sept. 9.
Also, the Terriers and their 6–2 record remain in competition with No. 8 Northeastern University for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
BU faces the Huskies on Oct. 21 at Jordan field.
Until then though, the Terriers will face a mixture of two non-conference opponents and two America East opponents.
The Terriers hope the win on Tuesday can help propel them to a winning streak that at least matches the five-game streak they started the season with.
“We feel good,” Starr said. “We needed this game. The win was important, but going into today we needed to play well and win, which is exactly what we did.”
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