The No. 17 Boston University field hockey team will try to extend its modest two-game winning streak when it travels to New York for the weekend to face off against Colgate University and No. 2 Syracuse University in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament first-round match-up.
The Terriers (5-2, 1-0 Patriot League) are coming off two wins against Providence College and Lafayette College, in which they only gave up one goal over both contests.
The strong defense can be partially credited to junior goalkeeper Cammy Jensen. The Escondido, California, native is second in the Patriot League with a 1.66 goals against average.
On the offensive side of the field, reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week and junior back Bea Baumberger Altirriba leads the Terriers in points with 12, good for the No. 2 spot in the conference.
While everything seems to be clicking for the Terriers, the same cannot be said for their opponent on Saturday.
The Raiders (0-8, 0-1 Patriot League) have failed to record one win this season and their offense is similarly struggling to get into a higher gear. They have yet to score more than two goals this season and have been shut out on three separate occasions.
Additionally, goalkeeper Maria Krull leads the Patriot League in saves (95), save percentage (.760) and saves per game (11.88). All of those statistics suggest Colgate’s troubles lay in its defense being unable to keep opposing offenses at bay. BU will trust on Altirriba and others to grab the Terriers’ share of the Raiders’ four goals allowed per game.
Despite Colgate’s struggles, though, BU assistant coach Tracey Paul wants to stress to her team not to take the Raiders lightly, especially since an undefeated Syracuse (7-0) team is waiting on Sunday.
“Colgate is very important because they’re a conference game,” Paul said. “The most important thing for us is to win the conference and to host in the conference tournament, so we can’t overlook any conference matchups. This game will help us prepare for Syracuse and our next Patriot League game against American [University].”
Colgate has not recorded a win against the Terriers since they joined the Patriot League back in 2013. In light of that, BU will look to continue their Patriot League dominance against the Raiders.
For the Sunday match, the Terriers will square off against their toughest challenge of the year.
Much like BU, Syracuse is a well-balanced team with five of its players reaching double-digits in points. Specifically, senior Emma Russell has scored six goals and registered two assists for the Orange from her forward position.
Paul noted that the Syracuse game will be full of emotion, as the Orange knocked the Terriers out of the NCAA Tournament last year.
“They were our last game last year and there’s a lot of emotional baggage with this game,” Paul said. “We have to keep that out and focus. This is a great opportunity to see where we match up against one of the top teams in the nation.”
