The Boston University women’s soccer team will look to bounce back from a disappointing 1-1 draw against the United States Military Academy on Sept. 27, as it continues Patriot League play Wednesday at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester.
Holy Cross (9-0-2, 1-0-1 Patriot League) comes into Wednesday’s game leading the Patriot League in goals scored with 21, but BU (5-3-2, 1-0-1 Patriot League) coach Nancy Feldman stressed that her team has focused more on improving their own play in practice this week.
“More of the work is on us,” Feldman said. “So with preparation, it’s really identifying areas we can continue to get better. It’s continuing to develop and grow as a team. So that’s really what we do in between games. ‘What do we do well? What are some things that we can do better?’ We’re focused on what we’re doing.”
The Crusaders are coming off a 1-0 win against American University Saturday and remain undefeated on the season. Freshman Aly Spencer netted the lone goal, her eighth of the season, and remains atop the Patriot League in individual goals scored.
“We did a little bit of work with our team defensively to try to neutralize Holy Cross’ ability to play direct,” Feldman said. “They’re a very good team. They’re undefeated. They’re very good at possession attack. And they’re also, more than some of the other teams we face, very good at putting balls behind the defense.”
Not only do the Crusaders excel on the offensive end, but they also play a staunch defense, having allowed just two goals all season, good for a meager 0.17 goals-against average, the best in the conference. The Crusaders’ stinginess provides a severe matchup problem for the Terriers, who are in the process of improving their attack.
BU has struggled to convert their offensive opportunities into goals as of late. In Saturday’s game against Army (4-5-1, 1-0-1 Patriot League), the Terriers went into halftime without recording a single shot. In the second half, senior forwards Ana Cuffia and Taylor Krebs, junior defender McKenzie Hollenbaugh and junior forward Jenna Fisher all recorded shots on goal, but only Fisher’s shot reached the back of the net.
“We keep wanting to reinforce what we think is vital for us to be successful in the long run,” Feldman said. “We identified the area of finishing that I think we can do better. We’re creating some chances, but I don’t think we’re getting enough from those opportunities.”
Hollenbaugh, senior defender Kai Miller, junior defender Lauren MacLellan and freshman defender Alivya Wimmer have helped BU keep opponents to the exterior. Army recorded just one shot in both the second half and two overtime periods Saturday, despite earning five corner kicks during that stretch of time.
“We’re going to work a little bit on Wednesday on our back four [defenders] and reading the cues to drop,” Feldman said.
It will be important for BU to maintain their defensive pressure on Wednesday in order to limit Spencer’s shot opportunities.
Wednesday’s contest against Holy Cross is the first of three upcoming away games for the Terriers before they face Lafayette College Oct. 11 at Nickerson Field.
I transferred to BU after playing a year of college hoops at Wesleyan University. Previous experience includes interning at the 7NBC-Boston (WHDH-TV) sports desk. I'm excited to cover women's soccer this fall for the Daily Free Press. Follow me here: @kfin2bu
