In the first of five conference games, No. 12 Boston University field hockey team looks to get one win closer to a postseason bid with its match against No. 23 University at Albany on Friday.
BU (6–3) is seeking its sixth win on the road while Albany (4–5) is looking to break out of a losing season.
Despite the difference in records, the upcoming game promises to be a fight due to nearly opposite skill sets. The Terriers have scored 10 of their 16 goals in the first half while the Great Danes have scored 11 of their 18 in the second half. “Albany is an outstanding team,” said BU coach Sally Starr. “They have some good individuals, but they have [a] very good goalkeeper.”
The main problem the Terriers have faced has consistently been failure to convert on their opportunities, but they have an advantage this time in that aspect. Out of all their shots they have scored 13 percent of them. Albany on the other hand has converted 11 percent of its shots.
Also in the Terriers’ favor is the return of the previously injured Sofi Laurito. The freshman forward, who had been recovering since the match against Providence College at the end of August, came back Sunday for a part in the match against No. 7 University of Virginia.
“We have Sofi back in the lineup, and that definitely open up a lot of possibilities for us position-wise for a lot of different players,” Starr said. “Having her back is huge for us and I think [she] is really going to help us start to convert on more offensive opportunities.”
Apart from outside events, BU has also improved due to practice. With a continued focus on attacking and mental endurance, the team is going into Friday’s game offensively stronger both on and off the ball.
“The biggest thing for us is that we play with good intelligence for 70 minutes,” Starr said. “[When we have lost] it’s not so much been because of what [other teams] have taken from us. It’s just been because of our decision making on the ball late in the game … and that is something we have definitely worked on.”
While Albany is coming off of a win and BU is coming off a loss, a major factor for Friday is opposing trends at Albany’s home field. The Terriers have won five of their six away games, whereas the Great Danes have only won one of their four home games. In addition, all three losses have been consecutive with the solitary win being against Hofstra University at the end of August.
“I’m looking forward to Friday. We’ve done very well on [Albany’s] field,” Starr said.
Although the Great Danes are in the midst of a losing season, they still threaten their opponents with a flood of offense. While BU has a higher conversion rate, the Great Danes are one of the only teams on the team’s schedule that have outshot the Terriers. With 153 shots — compared to Boston University’s 123 — the Great Danes may not score on every attempt, but the threat to their opponents lies in that sheer volume.
In scoring as well as on defense, there are two particularly dangerous players for Albany. Junior midfielder Corrine McConville leads the team in scoring with six goals in nine games and senior goalkeeper Kristi Troch maintains a 69-percent save rate.
The Terriers have only one clear cut advantage — their defense is statistically better. Namely, senior goalkeeper Jess Maroney, reigning America East Defensive Player of the Week, boasts both the highest save percentage and the lowest goals-against average in the conference. When pressure builds, the woman in the net has consistently made the difference in close game.
“The Albany–BU game has always been very, very competitive,” Starr said. “I’m expecting nothing else this Friday.”
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