With a berth in the Patriot League Tournament confirmed before the game, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team could have taken it easy Saturday afternoon against Bucknell University.
Instead, the Terriers (7-8, 5-3 Patriot League) snapped a three-game losing streak with an 11-9 win over the Bison (2-15, 0-8 Patriot League).
The game started off tough for the Terriers as the Bison rattled off four unanswered goals within the game’s first 11 minutes.
Sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Meegan had a rough half for BU as she let up five goals, compared to only two saves. Things did change in the second half, as Meegan had five saves compared to just four goals scored.
“I thought Meegan was a little jumpy in the first half, unsettled,” BU coach Liz Robertshaw wrote in an email. “But in the second half she was tracking shots better and was more patient in her play which allowed for more saves.”
After the four Bison goals, the Terriers would go on to score seven of the next eight goals. The Terriers were particularly dominant at the start of the second half.
With the score 5-2 in favor of Bucknell, junior midfielder Jill Horka began the second half scoring with an unassisted goal at the 26:39 mark. After that, freshman attack Mickenzie Larivee notched her third goal of the season with 25:02 left. Larivee’s goal was followed by three more BU goals, including repeats from Larivee and Horka.
“We discussed being more aggressive towards net and gaining possession of the draw during halftime and made a commitment to doing those things in the second half,” Robertshaw said. “We had a few players serving a suspension for a violation of team rules during the first half of the Bucknell game and in the second half those players made it a point to play for their teammates to help secure the win.”
These goals put the Terriers up 7-5 with not even seven minutes gone in the half. Although the team was up, the Bison would not go down without a fight. Midfielder Becca Golding would toss in a free-position shot before Horka came back soon after with another goal to notch her hat trick.
Bucknell scored a third of its goals by way of free-position shot, as they went 3-of-7 from the position. The Terriers went 2-of-6 in free-position shots, but Horka had two of those misses in her two opportunities. Before this game, Horka had been 2-of-3 from the free-position line, and the team as a whole is 30-for-68 on the 2015 season.
“When she stepped on the field in the second half the feel of the game changed, she was willing to put the team on her back and do whatever was necessary to win and other[s] followed that lead,” Robertshaw said. “It was a great example of the type of player Jill Horka is.”
One of the things the Terriers struggled with on the day was fouls. The visiting team racked up 37 fouls, more than double Bucknell’s total of 18.
Following the Horka goal, the Bison made their last attempt at a comeback as midfielder Cori Thielemann notched a goal with 16:38 left that pulled her team back within one.
That would be the closest the Bison would get to the lead again as junior midfielder Ally Adams ensured her team the victory. Adams had a hand in the next three consecutive BU goals.
She assisted junior midfielder Louisa Del Rio in her first goal of the season before notching two unassisted goals of her own.
“From the time Ally went in during the second half through until the end she was playing aggressively and getting shot opportunities that she likes,” Robertshaw said. “In the beginning of the half the shots didn’t fall and towards the end she made some slight adjustments to her angles and challenging lanes to find success and she did, the shots fell.”
Freshman Gretchen Richter would get two goals for the Bison before the game ended, but that would not be enough to get her team the win.
The Terriers now move onto Patriot League Tournament play, where they will try to reach the final for the second year in a row.
“I think the team feels good and is focused on Championship week,” Robertshaw said. “We’ve talked about making this a long week instead of a short one and I think the team is on board with that mentality. This week presents a lot of opportunity and we are looking at it as a new chapter in our growth, that is something I know the team is excited about.”
