Field hockey splits weekend tilt against Lehigh, Connecticut

Looking to add to its record in preparation for the postseason, the Boston University field hockey team split a home weekend series with a win over Lehigh University and a loss to No. 6 University of Connecticut.

Going into their matchup with the Mountain Hawks (4-10, 1-3 Patriot League), the Terriers (7-6, 2-1 Patriot League) rode a two-game winning streak, tied for their longest of the season.

From the opening whistle, the BU defense dominated Lehigh. By the end of the first half, the Mountain Hawks had accumulated just one shot, and they did not register a penalty attack corner or a shot on goal over the entire game.

The sole offense for the Terriers came off the stick of freshman midfielder/forward Kali Shumock. The Bethlehem, Pennsylvania native snatched up the ball in front of the cage following a rebound and snuck a wrist shot by Lehigh goalkeeper Julia Ward.

Shumock’s goal would prove to be all the offense the Terriers would need, as they rolled to the 1-0 conference victory. Despite the crucial win, BU coach Sally Starr was not impressed with her team’s play.

“We just didn’t compete,” Starr said. “Yes, we passed the ball, we moved the ball around, we did some good things, but you don’t get points for doing that. We have to work harder. We have to pay more attention to detail, play with more urgency, play with more energy, play with more fight and play with more determination.”

With Starr’s criticisms in mind, the Terriers returned to New Balance Field Sunday to face their most difficult challenge of the season in defending national champion UConn (9-2).

“We actually showed the team a video called ‘212 degrees,’” Starr said. “It talks about how at 211 degrees, not a lot happens, but if you get one more degree, you create steam, you get locomotion, et cetera. I just felt that yesterday, we didn’t play with that extra oomph, and when you play with that extra oomph, good things happen.”

The Huskies have picked up right where they left off in their quest for another title, losing only to perennial powerhouses in No. 9 Stanford University and No. 1 University of North Carolina.

Early on in the contest, UConn flexed their muscle, launching six shots on goal. However, 2013 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year senior Valentina Cerda Eimbcke had other ideas, as she saved all six of the Huskies’ first half chances. Eimbcke would be busy all day long, as she finished with 10 saves and faced 17 shots total.

UConn broke through to begin the second period, however, as freshman Casey Umstead notched her fifth goal of the season off the penalty attack corner chance. With a 1-0 lead in hand, the Huskies looked well on their way to victory. But once again, BU came up with a vital late goal to tie a game.

Coming off a caused turnover, the Terriers got a breakaway opportunity. BU’s leading scorer, sophomore forward Amanda Cassera, took the ball from half-field all the way to the half-circle, where she deked around Huskies goalkeeper Nina Klein and tapped in the equalizer.

The teams ended regulation at 1-1 and entered two 15-minute sudden-death overtime periods. During overtime, BU overcame two debilitating yellow cards, one merited by sophomore fullback Rachel Feig, a five minute penalty, and the other awarded to fellow sophomore backer Bea Baumberger Altirriba, a six minute penalty.

“We just delayed,” Starr said. “We fell back and absorbed to protect the heart. We wanted to make them utilize the 30 to 40 seconds of going back, getting the ball and bringing it back to us. We didn’t want to get caught spread out and chasing the high balls, and from there, we really just tried to spring the counterattack.

“I don’t know how many minutes we had to play with a man down in overtime, but we did it brilliantly.”

With the game yet to be decided at the conclusion of two overtimes, the teams went into a shootout. Despite the efforts of Eimbcke, the Terriers could not get the ball past Klein, and fell in the shootout 2-0. The official result of the game saw BU lose to UConn 2-1.

Even though her team fell, Starr marveled at its improvement from the day before, citing their competitiveness as the reason for her pride.

“This was our fifth game in nine days,” Starr said. “Not only were we able to play the defending national champions to a shootout, but it was our fifth game in nine days. We’re lean on numbers, so there was a lot of grit, a lot of heart, a lot of determination out there today.”