Women’s soccer to close out regular season against Bucknell

With the Patriot League tournament looming, the Boston University women’s soccer team will travel to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to take on Bucknell University in its final regular-season contest Saturday afternoon.

Both the Terriers (11-4-3, 5-1-2 Patriot League) and the Bison (9-7-2, 4-3-1 Patriot League) have already clinched spots in the six-team playoff tournament that is set to take place Nov. 4–9.

BU is in a second place tie with the United States Naval Academy in the Patriot League standings with 17 points. Ahead of them is Colgate University (19 points), who can clinch the Patriot League regular-season title and home-field advantage throughout the tournament with a victory over American University on Nov. 1.

If the Terriers defeat the Bison and the Eagles (3-14, 0-8 Patriot League) steal a victory away from the Raiders, the Patriot League tournament will be held at Nickerson Field.

In the last meeting between the two teams on Nov. 2, 2013, the Terriers earned a hard-fought 1-0 win against Bucknell at Nickerson Field, thanks to a goal from then-freshman forward Erica Kosienski in the 53rd minute. BU coach Nancy Feldman said she is expecting a similar challenge from the Bison.

“The sign of a program that is very, very strong is their play from one year to the next is pretty similar and sound,” Feldman said. “I watched the tape of them this year, and I looked back on the scouting report from last year, and it’s like we’re talking about the same team. That’s the sign of a strong foundation.”

In recognition of their performances in wins over Colgate (12-2-2, 6-1-1 Patriot League) and American, two BU players earned weekly distinctions from the Patriot League.

Taking home Corvias Offensive Player of the Week honors was senior forward Taylor Krebs, who scored a goal in each contest.

Freshman center back Alivya Wimmer earned a Corvias Rookie of the Week nod for her role in shutting out the Raiders and the Eagles. Wimmer has received more minutes since an early-season injury to sophomore defender Rachel Bloznalis and earned her first start in a 1-1 draw with the University of Akron on Sept 12.

The Shingle Springs, California native has started every game since and has been a key part of a back line that has given up just five goals in its past 11 contests. Most recently, Wimmer and the Terriers limited the high-powered Colgate offense to four shots and conceded just two shot attempts to the Eagles.

“She’s grown on the job, no doubt about it,” Feldman said. “She’s an intelligent kid. She has an innate calmness to her, and it makes her appear even more confident than she is. That composure has come in handy. She’s a quick learner. She has been soaking it up while she’s been pretty much a 90-minute player for us in a vital role.”

Feldman said playing alongside an experienced center back senior Kai Miller, a 2013 First-Team All-Patriot League selection, has greatly contributed to Wimmer’s fast development.

“We told Alivya to soak up as much as she possibly can,” Feldman said. “I’ve seen every other defender in the conference live. Kai Miller, hands down, is the best defender in the conference. She is everything you want in a center back… She’s who you want when the game’s on the line. She’s the best. I think Alivya has gained a lot from playing with her.”

Like the Terriers, the Bison are riding a two-game winning streak. However, Bucknell’s victories have been tinged with a considerably higher amount of drama.

First, on Oct. 22, the Bison came from behind to defeat Lafayette College 2-1 in overtime on a long-distance effort from senior Brigit Falcón.

Three days later against the College of the Holy Cross, Bucknell came away with another win. This time, the Bison erased an early deficit by scoring two second-half goals to earn another 2-1 win.

On offense, forward Kendall Ham leads Bucknell with 12 points on five goals and two assists. Midfielder Madison Loos and forward Maddie Mulford are tied for third in the Patriot League in assists with four. Both Loos and Mulford notched assists in the win over the Crusaders.

“They’re a complete team,” Feldman said. “They’ve got physical strength. They play a very aggressive style, both in attack and defensively. They play incredibly organized. I say that about a lot of the teams in our conference, but they are very well coached.

“They’re an experienced team. They’re going to be formidable. They’re going to be physical. They hunt hard. They don’t let you separate too easily. We’re going to have to be mobile and dynamic to separate. We’re going to have to be ready at every moment because they’ll jump on moments when you take a pause.”

By the time BU steps onto the field Saturday, it will have been six days since its last contest. Feldman said her team is using the extra training time to train hard, while getting some well-deserved rest.

“We had a day off on Monday and had two intense practices on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Feldman said. “We got after it. We really expect to improve something, even if it’s a small thing, every single day that we train while balancing the need for rest.”

Feldman said that with the extra rest, her squad will be physically and mentally ready to close out the regular season on a strong note.

“You want to be playing your best at the end, and we seem to have found our game with some consistency,” Feldman said. “That’s super encouraging. But it’s only as consistent as the last game. We want to keep it going. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t. We want to be mentally and physically ready to play. That’s hopefully what we’ll be ready to do at Bucknell.

“There’s great enthusiasm right now. It’s exciting to start to think about postseason play. We’re playing a very competitive team, but I know we’ll bring out best.”