Women’s soccer prepares to wrap up homestand against Army

It is no secret the Boston University women’s soccer team’s current homestand has been an inconsistent one. In the team’s last four games, all at Nickerson Field, the team has put up a 1-2-1 record, a stark contrast to the 2013 season, in which the team went undefeated on its home turf.

The Terriers (5-3-1, 1-0 Patriot League) will look to build off a 1-0 win over the United States Naval Academy on Sept. 20 as they end their five-game homestand against the United States Military Academy Saturday at Nickerson Field. BU battled the Black Knights (4-5, 1-0 Patriot League) once in 2013, pulling out a 1-0 win in West Point, New York, on Sept. 28 en route to a Patriot League title.

Army is coming off a thrilling 2-1 win against Bucknell University at home Sept 20. Senior Mallory Herron put the Black Knights ahead on a penalty kick with just over a minute remaining to complete a come-from-behind victory. However, the team is 0-3 on the road, a comforting sign for the Terriers.

“They’re a good team. What you expect from a service academy, you’re going to get. They’re going to be fit. They’re going to be strong. They’re going to be competitive,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “The work ethic of that team is good. Their mentality is good. Obviously, they do all the things that make people terrific for the armed services.

“They’ve got a good midfield, one or two attacking players that we will have to neutralize. They have a good goalkeeper who was there last year who keeps them in games.”

One of those attacking players that Feldman has to prepare for is junior Katie Holder. She is third overall in the Patriot League in shots taken with 26, and tied for second in goals with four. Her knack for putting the ball in the back of the net could cause problems for the Terrier defense.

“Obviously, we need to know where she is on the field at all times,” Feldman said. “We need to know which foot might be her favorite foot and try to key in on that. We’ll try to keep her under pressure whenever she receives the ball.”

Although Holder provides the strongest attacking presence, Army is not a one-dimensional team as six other Black Knights have scored at least one goal in the 2014 campaign. Feldman said she thinks the key to victory for her team lies in its ability to play solid team defense.

“The goal is to play strong team defense, specifically depending on how they like to move the ball and get it in the goal,” Feldman said. “We really just try to keep doing things we do well. That’s our focus on a game-by-game basis.”

The Terriers will look for some offensive firepower of their own in Saturday’s contest. BU has struggled to find the back of the net, recording only two goals in its last four games. Junior forward Jenna Fisher, who scored the game-winning goal over Navy (4-3-3) and was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, could be key in this regard. Despite the lack of goals, Feldman said she remains confident in her team’s ability to compete on a game-by-game basis.

“What we’ve been working on this week is things we’ve identified coming out of the Navy game and areas that we can still make improvement,” Feldman said. “The kids are in a good place. They know exactly how important every single college game is. They’re not going to come onto the field scared of them. We have to come onto the field bringing the same level of focus on what we need to do to be successful.”

For Feldman, the most important thing she hopes to see in her team is improvement as it heads into the bulk of its season.

“I would even say we need to be a little better,” Feldman said. “My assumption is that everyone is getting better every week. We need to get better every week; that’s what training is for.

“No matter what happened last game, we move on from it. That’s our mindset. We move on whether we win or lose. If we focus on all the things we need to do and execute, we’ll be successful.”