Women’s soccer captures 2nd straight Patriot League championship

All throughout the 2014 campaign, Boston University women’s soccer coach Nancy Feldman spoke about the resilience of her team.

During the course of the regular season, the Terriers (14-4-3) suffered multiple season-ending injuries, unsavory weather conditions and a three-game winless streak that put the team’s quest for a second consecutive Patriot League title in jeopardy. Still, Feldman’s squad fought through those setbacks and earned the second seed in this past weekend’s Patriot League tournament held at Colgate University.

There, the Terriers put that resilience on display as they downed the United States Naval Academy 2-0 in the semifinals Friday and held on for a 2-1 win over Colgate (14-3-2) to win their second consecutive Patriot League title.

“It feels great,” Feldman said. “This year’s team, from the beginning of the season to now, has grown… They have been their best when the moments have been biggest and when the moments have been most difficult. There’s a persistence quality about this group, and they have strong character. They play with a lot of joy and a lot of passion. I’m really happy for them.”

With the win, the Terriers earned an automatic berth into the upcoming NCAA tournament, where they will hope to improve upon last season’s second-round appearance.

Friday’s semifinal round was marred by inclement weather and frigid temperatures in Hamilton, New York that delayed the start time of both matches for over 90 minutes.

By the time the Terriers took the field at 9:15 p.m. on Friday, field conditions were more favorable, as the snowfall had subsided. Navy (12-4-5, 6-1-2 Patriot League) came into the contest riding an 11-game unbeaten streak and looked threatening early, getting two shot attempts within the first 10 minutes. The BU backline held strong, though, and the Terrier offense found its groove as the game wore on.

In the 26th minute, Feldman sent in a series of offensive substitutes to keep the pressure on the Navy defense. The decision paid off, as a little over a minute later, junior midfielder Clare Pleuler intercepted an errant pass from the Midshipmen and launched a shot from outside the box that made its way into the upper left corner of the net and put BU up 1-0.

The Terriers added an insurance goal in the 59th minute after senior midfielder Jamie Turchi was fouled about 25 yards away from the goal. On the ensuing free kick, senior midfielder Katherine Lim and Turchi ran over the ball to misdirect the Midshipmen and senior forward Ana Cuffia then struck a shot that curled just over the Navy goalkeeper’s head and into the back of the net to extend BU’s advantage to 2-0.

Not willing to go down without a fight, the Midshipmen stepped up their offensive efforts and threw everything they had at senior goalkeeper Alyssa Parisi and the BU defense. Parisi made a series of big saves, and senior center back Kai Miller’s backline held its composure down the stretch to preserve the victory and send BU to its second consecutive Patriot League championship game.

“[Parisi] faced a lot of traffic in some of the situations, and she held her own,” Feldman said. “She was strong, and she got some help. The defense was a team effort … They extended themselves and tried to deny any uncontested shots.”

In Sunday afternoon’s Patriot League final, the Raiders dominated possession in the early going. However, it was the Terriers and their high-pressure team defense that earned the game’s first goal.

In the ninth minute, junior forward Jenna Fisher sent a low cross into the box that found the foot of Lim, whose one-touch shot attempt flew high of the goal. The resultant goal kick saw Fisher pick off Raider goalkeeper Brenna Mason’s pass and centered the ball into a wide-open Cuffia, who put the ball into the back of the net.

Looking to expand on its 1-0 lead, Feldman’s squad came out aggressive to start the second half of play. The Terriers earned a corner kick in the 46th minute, and Turchi’s header attempt off senior forward Taylor Krebs’ service went just wide of the net.

Freshman forward Christina Wakefield almost doubled the Terriers’ advantage in the 54th minute when she got on the end of freshman center back Alivya Wimmer’s free-kick service, but Mason was there to punch the shot away.

Pleuler came off the bench in the 61st minute and again proved to be the spark the BU offense needed. In the 65th minute, Fisher got the ball off a counter attack and sent in another low cross to the center of the box for Pleuler, who scored her second goal of the weekend to put the Terriers up 2-0.

“In the beginning of the second half, we started to imprint our style more,” Feldman said. “If we had played the second half like we played the first half, they would have been able to open things up as much as they did in the first half. I thought it was going to be very difficult for us to come away with a victory if that continued because it’s very tiring.”

The Raiders picked up the pressure in the latter part of the second half. Colgate nearly scored twice on close-range opportunities, but the BU defense made two goal-line saves to preserve the shutout. One of those saves came off a header from Wimmer.

“Alivya’s header was amazing because that was a missile that was going in,” Feldman said. “She got her head in the way and took one for the team. Sometimes, you need people to step up in big moments.”

Colgate cut the Terriers’ advantage in half in the 78th minute when Turchi delivered a hard foul in the box, resulting in a penalty kick for the home team. Parisi guessed correctly on senior Caroline Brawner’s subsequent kick, but the ball slid just under her hands.

The Raiders kept up the pressure in the game’s final minutes, but the BU backline – anchored by Parisi and Miller – held strong to secure the 2-1 win and the program’s second straight Patriot League title.

Parisi, Pleuler, Cuffia and Miller were named to the All-Patriot League Tournament team, and Miller took home the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.

For Feldman, the trials and tribulations that led to the program’s second consecutive Patriot League title made the reward that much sweeter.

“It’s a tough league,” Feldman said. “This was not easy. Getting to the point where we got into the tournament as a two-seed and winning the tournament is not an easy thing to do. That makes it really satisfying.”