After enduring a disappointing opening third to its 2015 season, the Boston University women’s soccer team made significant strides this past weekend in contests against Central Connecticut State University and Hofstra University.
The forward charges began Friday evening when BU (1-4-2) battled the Blue Devils (3-1-2) to a 1-1 draw, in which two overtime periods could not produce a golden goal for either side.
After allowing the first goal of the match in the fourth minute when freshman Emma Hubbard slipped a shot past senior goalkeeper Alyssa Parisi, the Terriers battled back with a vengeance.
Senior forward Jenna Fisher found a way through the Blue Devils’ defense in the 38th minute to fire home her first goal of the season. Motivated by Fisher’s prowess, the Terriers laid on the offense for the rest of the match.
They ultimately registered 19 shots across 110 minutes of competition, but were unable to get past Central Connecticut goalkeeper Nicki Turley a second time. BU was forced to settle for its second tie of the year and battle for its first win against Hofstra (5-3) Sunday.
The Terriers finally snapped their winless streak when the Pride came to town, as they defeated their Colonial Athletic Association opponent, 2-1.
In spite of the win, the Terriers dealt with droves of pressure in the early goings of the contest. Through the creative presence of forward Leah Galton, the Pride created chance after chance, only to be stymied by the center back pairing of junior Rachel Bloznalis and senior McKenzie Hollenbaugh.
“They both had great games,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “All of our defenders had great games, even [freshman defender] Chelsea Churchill came in and played the last 20 or so minutes and shut down [midfielder Jill Mulholland], who also gets them going out of midfield. It was a team effort, but we’ve got some stud backs.”
However, Galton, Mulholland and the rest of the Pride were unable to get the best of BU. In what marked their first chance of the game, the Terriers created the contest’s first goal through interplay along the right flank.
Fisher drifted into the channel and bent a teasing cross behind the Hofstra defense that found the head of freshman midfielder Dorrie Varley-Barrett, who then made no mistake in heading the ball beyond Pride goalkeeper Friederike Mehring at the 25:14 mark.
Boosted by Varley-Barrett’s first tally of her collegiate career, the Terriers controlled the remainder of the first half and largely kept the Pride at bay. Nonetheless, Hofstra’s high-octane offense responded in the 60th minute.
After collecting the ball atop the Terriers’ 18-yard box, Mulholland cut back onto her right foot and hit a blistering strike into the top right corner to even the scoreline.
With Varley-Barrett and Mulholland’s tallies on the board, neither team could best Parisi or Mehring again in regulation, sending the match into overtime.
As both teams searched for the game-winner, it was BU who ultimately got the last laugh. After a fortuitous bounce, senior midfielder Clare Pleuler laced a volley into the top corner in the 97th minute.
“I just was kind of in the right place at the right time,” Pleuler said. “Luckily I took a good touch and I was lucky enough to put it away, but [the win was] a total team effort and we’re really happy to get the win.”
Through one shot, BU gained its first win of the season and the team’s true mentality emerged after the considerable adversity that previously defined the 2015 season.
“Getting the tie on Friday and the win [Sunday] after the start we’ve had, how do you climb out of it?” Feldman said. “What we kept trying to do was keep focusing on performance. It certainly helps because now as you coach you aren’t driving [the players] deeper into a hole.
“Managing their confidence was certainly a challenge and continuing to be positive,” she added, “which they did an amazing job of considering how disappointed they were in how they started the year.”
Jonathan's a New Englander who writes about sports, features and politics. He currently covers men's hockey at BU, worked as Sports Editor during the spring 2016 semester and is on the FreeP's Board of Directors. Toss him a follow on Twitter at @jonathansigal.
