The No. 17 Boston University field hockey team’s offense has hit its sweet spot, winning its latest games against Lafayette College and Providence College.
The Terriers’ (5-2, 1-0 Patriot League) offense banded together in the Patriot League opener against Lafayette (5-3, 0-1 Patriot League), defeating the Leopards by a score of 3-1. Junior back Bea Baumberger Altirriba and junior forward Amanda Cassera both scored on penalty corners. Altirriba assisted Cassera’s goal, securing the lead for the Terriers, which they never relinquished.
Altirriba’s success during the game against the Leopards was honored with the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week award, announced Monday. She is currently the Terriers’ top scorer of the season, racking up 12 points on three goals and six assists thus far.
Through seven games, she has already tripled her scoring output from a season ago, when she only scored one goal and had a total of four points.
BU assistant coach Tracey Paul credited the Terriers’ recent success to returning players such as Altirriba, as well as to plenty of practice.
“Part of the credit with scoring so many goals is that we’re returning a lot of seasoned players, so the rhythm of the corners is really great,” Paul said. “We’re returning so many players to those positions that they’re used to in the penalty corner battery and we practice them often.”
Paul’s assessment seems to be ringing true early in the 2015 campaign, where the Terriers’ offense is proving to be as strong as last year’s Patriot League-winning lineup. Success on penalty corners is a major part of it, as all three goals were scored as a result of fouls in the circle against the Friars (1-7) on Sept. 13.
Senior midfielder/forward Sofi Laurito scored two of the three goals in the game against Providence, joined by classmate and commander of the defense Rachel Coll. It was Coll’s first goal of the season, which provided even more depth to the Terriers’ capable front line.
The Friars could not answer the call, putting up a goose egg on the scoreboard as the Terriers emerged victorious by a final score of 3-0.
Paul also said this is only the beginning for the BU offense.
“We have some tricks up our sleeves,” she said, “… as we go down further into conference that I’m not going to talk about.”
