Women’s soccer set to face off against American at Nickerson Field

The Boston University women’s soccer team will face American University in its second-to-last regular season game Sunday at Nickerson Field.

While the Terriers (10-4-3, 4-1-2 Patriot League) are coming off a 2-0 win over Colgate University on Wednesday, American (3-13, 0-7 Patriot League) remains 10th in the conference and suffered a 0-2 loss to ninth-place Loyola University-Maryland Thursday afternoon.

In their last meeting, BU pulled out a 1-0 overtime win over the Eagles on Oct. 27, 2013, thanks to a 98th minute goal by senior forward Taylor Krebs.

BU is third in Patriot League standings and as the regular season comes to a close, each game has postseason implications. BU coach Nancy Feldman has consistently stressed her team’s desire to earn a high seed in the conference and potentially receive a first round bye.

“You’re playing for a championship now because we need to get in and put ourselves in the best position for seeding to put ourselves in the best position to win,” Feldman said. “Every single game becomes more important as you go along.

“We want to continue to keep our hopes alive to get a first or second seed. If we keep winning and other teams don’t, then we could put ourselves in a position to get a bye. If not, then we put ourselves in a position to get a three seed, which gets us a home game. Every game is now to put ourselves in a position to win a title.”

Though American remains winless in the Patriot League, the Eagles have received some offensive punch from forward Lindsay Muri, who is fourth in the Patriot League in shots per game. The Burlington, Connecticut native is just one goal behind BU junior forward Jenna Fisher, who has scored six goals for the Terriers this season.

Despite a loss last week to Loyola (6-8-2, 2-3-2 Patriot League), Feldman noted that her team’s offensive and defensive cohesion has improved as of late. On Wednesday night, the Terriers had 11 shots and held Colgate (11-2-2, 5-1-1 Patriot League) to just four, none of which were on target.

“I think we’ve really begun to feel comfortable imprinting our style,” Feldman said. “I think we have built confidence in how we have to play to be successful. That style is how we defend as a group and what everybody’s part in that is. And also how important it is for us to fight to win the ball, fight to keep the ball and use our mobility to move the ball forward into the final third.

“We’re very resilient. We get knocked down here and there, but we are a group that is very determined to get back on track.”

Just Colgate and the United States Naval Academy stand above BU in the Patriot League, making a win this Sunday crucial for the Terriers as they hope to receive a first-round bye in the Patriot League tournament.

However, Feldman explained that her team is more excited about postseason play and does not feel pressure, even as defending Patriot League champions.

“If anything, they feel free right now,” she said. “They feel confident. They love playing soccer. They love competing. They’re excited more than anything that this time of year is coming around. So there’s a lot of excitement, passion and pride. This is what you do all the work for. So I know that the enthusiasm is very high right now.”