In its first season as a member of the Patriot League, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team fell just short of its goal, losing to No.10 Loyola University-Maryland 18-7 in the Patriot League Championship game.
“I’m proud of my girls,” said BU coach Liz Robertshaw. “They competed the whole season. I felt like we were in every game, and they always played with confidence. It was our first time in this league. No one likes to settle, especially me, but I’m happy with the results.”
Junior attack Lindsay Weiner led the way for the Terriers (9-10, 5-3 Patriot League) all season, as she had a team-high 36 points. In recognition of her efforts, Weiner was named to the All-Patriot League second team and was announced as a member of the Patriot League All-Tournament Team after the season concluded.
“Lindsay was fantastic the whole season,” Robertshaw said. “She always brought her best. Our attack wasn’t the best this year, I know that, we know that. I got on them in the beginning of the season for their lack of scoring. But she always made them look better. Every time we were down, I knew I could turn to her to make a game-changing play. She’s a playmaker.”
Consistency in the Terriers’ attack was a recurring problem, as they could not get anything going in the first few games, with the midfielders carried the scoring load for the most part. As the season progressed, attacks like freshman Taylor Hardison and senior Elizabeth Morse started to ramp up their production.
At season’s end, the Terriers did not have one player in the top 10 for goals per game, points per games or shots per game in the Patriot League. Their offense was anemic for a large segment of the season and the team only eclipsed the 10-goal mark three times during the regular season.
“Our attacks did not produce at all for us at times,” Robertshaw said. “I always told them that we needed more from them. They just really weren’t producing enough. It really irritated me. Lucky for us, our midfielders tried their hardest to pick up the slack. But that doesn’t mean we should be satisfied. [The attacks] should want more, they should want to score.”
All-Patriot League Second-Teamer and senior midfielder Becca Church, and All-Patriot League First-Teamer sophomore midfielder Jill Horka did their best to ‘pick up the slack’ as both had 25 goals apiece to lead the team. Horka provided one of her best efforts of the year in the conference championship game, delivering a hat trick for the Terriers. The sophomore was phenomenal throughout the 2014 campaign, topping the team in multiple offensive categories.
This imbalance in the offensive attack, along with many other factors, led to a very up-and-down season. The Terriers opened the season with four straight non-conference losses. They then finally won their first game of the year against American University, but then fell to John Hopkins University just days later.
As conference play arrived, the Terriers rattled off five straight wins, beating the then-No.14 U.S. Naval Academy, 9-8, in the process.
Once they arrived to the playoffs, they knocked off Lehigh University and Navy (14-3, 6-2 Patriot League) to reach the Patriot League Championship game. There, they were outmanned by the Greyhounds (15-4) and ended the season as runners-up in the Patriot League.
“I am a little disappointed, I’m not going to lie,” Robertshaw said. “But it was just our first year. We have years to learn more about this league and grow. And I feel like we really can. I see a bright future for us.”
The Terriers’ season is not officially over, as the team is set to take on Boston College on Saturday at Nickerson Field.
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