Despite playing in strong winds and rain, the Boston University’s women’s soccer team played well enough to defeat Patriot League leader Colgate University by a score of 2-0 Wednesday night at Nickerson Field.
The Terriers (10-4-3, 4-1-2 Patriot League) held on for the conference win after scoring their two goals in the first half.
In the fifth minute, senior forward Taylor Krebs dribbled the ball into the left side of the box and fired a low shot to the opposite side of the goal, just past Colgate goalkeeper Brenna Mason. The Terriers then struck again in the 41st minute, when freshman forward Christina Wakefield scored from inside the box off a deflected shot from senior forward Ana Cuffia, putting the Raiders (11-2-2, 5-1-1 Patriot League) in a hole that was too deep to overcome.
The temperature throughout the game was in the low 50s, with intermittent rain and wind gusts. BU coach Nancy Feldman acknowledged that the weather played a role in the game, but it did not decide the winner.
“I wouldn’t say we used it [the weather] to our advantage,” she said. “The conditions are the conditions. We saw the ball get held up a bit on aerial service, but we just have to deal with that. The conditions certainly weren’t perfect, but we got two goals against the wind, and no one got goals with the wind.
“I said to the team at halftime, ‘It’s not about the conditions. It’s about how you play.’ On a day like this, the more the ball can be on the ground, the better. But sometimes it has to be in the air, and you have to deal with it.”
For the most part, it was hard for either team to generate any scoring opportunities throughout the game. Defense was a key component of the match, as senior defender Kai Miller and the rest of the defense held the Raiders to just four corner kicks and four shots the entire game. The Terriers managed to take 11 shots in the game, led by Krebs with three shots.
Unlike previous games, the Terriers started off the game aggressively, as they took six shots in the first half, resulting in their two goals.
“It was really important that we started the game aggressively,” Feldman said. “You want to set the tempo from the start and take charge of the game. There will be times that the other team gets to grab the tempo and you have to work to get it back. It’s certainly better to be up a goal after four minutes than down a goal after four minutes. It’s a much better position to be in.
“I thought our team did a real terrific job with keeping our foot on the gas just about the whole game and controlling the tempo just about the whole game. That’s not an easy thing to do against a very good team.”
The Terriers’ win is no doubt a vital one, as their 14 points are now just two behind Patriot League leaders Colgate and the United States Naval Academy. BU has two more regular season games before the Patriot League Tournament starts on Nov. 4.
When asked about her team’s confidence level after their win, Feldman said it would prove crucial for the rest of the season.
“Hopefully this game helps our confidence level. I think it should,” she said. “We’ve played other games like this, so they should be confident. They know that when they play their best and with full focus and full effort and really concentrate, they should be confident that they can be one of the top teams in the league.
“So it was nice to have this game at this time. Hopefully we can lock up a postseason spot. You want to be playing your best in the end, and hopefully this gets us toward playing our best in the end.”
Nick is currently writing for the Boston Hockey Blog. In the past, he has served as associate sports editor, and has covered men's and women's cross-country, women's soccer, men's basketball, and men's lacrosse for the Daily Free Press. You can keep track of Nick's exciting life by following him on Twitter at @nikfraz14
