Women’s soccer easily dispatches Crusaders

The Boston University women’s soccer team made a big statement Wednesday night, as the Terriers dominated the College of Holy Cross, 3-0, at Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium in Worcester.

The Terriers (6-3-2, 2-0-1 Patriot League) erased all concerns of offensive woes as junior forward Jenna Fisher, senior midfielder Jamie Turchi and senior midfielder Katherine Lim all scored against the Crusaders (9-1-2, 1-1-1 Patriot League).

BU dealt the Crusaders their first loss of the season, with Holy Cross surrendering more goals against the Terriers than they had in all their previous 11 matches. Holy Cross was held to three shots all game, as senior defender Kai Miller anchored the Terrier defense once again in the shutout.

“We started the game really well,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “We really did the things we needed to do to be successful on a rainy night. We had possession advantage from start to finish, we got the pressure on them, connected on some passes, and we tried to really go at them with speed.

“It’s nice to see us put a good 90 minutes together and to do so on the road…I thought the kids had a great mentality. I’m happy for them.”

While the Terriers might have been seen as the underdog going into an away game against an undefeated team, they took command on both sides of the ball throughout the tilt. BU outshot the Crusaders 17-3, led by senior forward Ana Cuffia with four on the night.

On the defensive side, it was — once again — all Terriers. Senior goalkeeper Alyssa Parisi recorded her second shutout of the season, notching two saves in the process. The Crusaders struggled all game to get any momentum on offense, as Miller, freshman defender Alivya Wimmer and junior defender Lauren MacLellan put forth strong performances in the BU backfield.

After the game, Feldman was unable to point out any one particular player in the team win.

“There really can’t be an MVP on a night like this,” Feldman said. “Everybody had a positive impact at the end of the game, everybody did their job really well and that’s why it was a successful team result.”

Unlike previous games, where it took the team a while to start playing with confidence, the Terriers came flying out of the gate, recording four shots within the first 30 minutes.

“It was the things we did to win at the midfield,” Feldman said. “We possessed the ball, we connected passes and I thought we showed our mobility. The shots and the goals don’t come if you don’t do the parts to win the battles. You’re not just going to kick the ball forward and outrun the defense and get opportunities at goals.”

BU finally broke the scoreless tie in the 34th minute, when sophomore forward Erica Kosienski fired a shot from the top of the box directly at Holy Cross goalkeeper Carly McCabe. The ball ricocheted off McCabe, and then Fisher was able to tap the ball in from point-blank range on the right side of the inner box.

After that goal, the Terriers kept quiet for the remainder of the first half, but erupted offensively again over the final 45 minutes of play. In the 50th minute, Turchi gathered a loose ball at the top of the box and blasted a low ball right past a diving McCabe.

Just seven minutes later, the Terriers struck again when Cuffia ran the ball up the right side of the field, then passed it into the box to a waiting Lim, who took an open shot from about 12 yards out for the score, giving the Terriers an insurmountable lead. The goal was the first of Lim’s career.

The Crusaders never got a chance to retaliate, as BU controlled every aspect of the game.

“Hopefully, we can take this offensive formula and keep working on it, and this is what it could look like,” Feldman said. “We know what it takes. When you do it, it doesn’t feel like it’s hard work, because it’s flowing. It’s a lot easier to play with the ball than without it. We did the things to control the majority of the match.

“[I was] real happy for the team tonight, there was good leadership tonight, and everybody played up to their ability.”