Women’s soccer wraps up regular season with victory over Bucknell

The Boston University women’s soccer team finished out its regular season on a high note, riding two first-half goals and hanging on to defeat Bucknell University 2-1 on the road Saturday afternoon.

With the team having already clinched its spot in the Patriot League tournament, it would have been easy for the Terriers (12-4-3, 6-1-2 Patriot League) to overlook the Bison (9-8-2, 4-4-1 Patriot League) in favor of impending postseason play. However, for BU coach Nancy Feldman’s squad, that was not the case.

“I thought our approach to the game was really, really strong,” Feldman said. “We were competitive from start to finish and focused on winning our battles. We came ready to play, as you would expect. I thought the kids did a really good job of getting their minds right.”

At Emmitt Field in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, winds blew at speeds of close to 20 mph for the duration of the contest. The Terriers played into the direction of the wind in the first half and used it to their advantage.

Senior forward Ana Cuffia took two shots in the first 13 minutes of play while the Terriers dominated possession.

In the 34th minute, BU broke through on the scoreboard off a corner kick from junior defender Lauren MacLellan. The service from MacLellan bounced around in the box until senior midfielder Jamie Turchi got a touch on the ball and sent it in the direction of senior defender Kai Miller, who hit a one-touch shot into the back of the net.

The Terriers kept up the pressure and added to their advantage just three minutes later when sophomore midfielder Alexandra Cooper dribbled down the right sideline and fed the ball into freshman forward Christina Wakefield at the top of the box. Wakefield sliced through the Bison defense and placed a low shot at the far post to give the Terriers a 2-0 advantage.

With the loss of sophomore forward Erica Kosienski due to injury, Feldman said Wakefield has shifted from outside forward to a more central target forward role.

“She’s learned on the job really quickly,” she said. “The demands in terms of what to do are tough, but she has a really strong competitive edge and work rate. She’s gotten herself game fit. She’s proven to have a knack for scoring goals. She’s really aggressive about the box and in learning how to present herself as a target forward.”

The Terriers got two more scoring chances before the end of the half and went into the locker room having outshot the Bison 8-1.

The teams switched sides in the second half, and Bucknell used the opportunity to play into the direction of the wind to its benefit.

Bucknell repeatedly found offensive opportunities against the BU defense in the second half’s opening minutes. Freshman Meghan Holtz finally cut the Terriers’ lead in half in the 67th minute when she connected with midfielder Madison Loos on a give-and-go that got her in behind the BU backline. Holtz struck a left-footed shot that made its way past senior goalkeeper Alyssa Parisi to make it a 2-1 game.

The Terriers spent the last part of the match trying to quell a surging Bison attack and preserve the win.

“As soon as they got that goal, I knew that we were going to be just trying to hang on because the momentum started to shift,” Feldman said. “We went up against it, and they were throwing everything they had at us.”

Three times in the final minutes of the game, the Bison got a strong shot off that forced a stellar effort from Parisi. With six minutes remaining, Bucknell sent a high through ball for senior Cassie Denger that went over the heads of the BU backline and required Parisi to rush off her line to corral it.

In the final minute, defender Kelsey Witt got a shot off from just outside the box, but Parisi came up big once again. As time expired, the Bison got a final shot attempt on a low cross, and Parisi made the save to preserve a BU victory.

“What she did today speaks to her strengths,” Feldman said about Parisi. “She’s incredibly prepared. She was very focused on the game. She’s a mature kid and a mature player in regards to the mental aspect of the game. A younger keeper might have approached the second half a little differently and thought, ‘Hey we got this one in the bank.’”

After Colgate University defeated American University 1-0 on a late goal, the Raiders (13-2-2, 7-1-1 Patriot League) clinched the Patriot League regular season title and home field advantage for the semifinals and finals of the Patriot League tournament. BU ended the season with 20 points, tied for second place with the United States Naval Academy. Thanks to the Terriers’ 1-0 win over the Midshipmen (11-3-5, 6-1-2 Patriot League) on Sept. 20, BU clinched the second seed in the Patriot League tournament and a bye into the semifinals.

Feldman said that the long week of practice will be spent recovering and tightening the hinges offensively as her team gets ready for postseason action.

“We get a day or two of some rest and recovery,” Feldman said. “That’s one of our top three priorities. We always want to work on our offense, both the technical aspect and the speed with which we finish chances. We may add a tweak or two to our set pieces so we have something fresh going into the postseason. Once we find out our opponent, we’re going to do whatever else we need to do to try and neutralize their strong aspects.”