The No. 17 Boston University field hockey team will take a short trip away from the friendly confines of Nickerson Field when it battles Lehigh University on Friday and takes on No. 2 University of Connecticut on Saturday.
The contests come in the wake of the Terriers’ (9-4, 4-0 Patriot League) 1-0 overtime loss to No. 4 Duke University on Sunday — a game that marked the first time BU was shut out all season.
Despite the setback, the Terriers come into this weekend’s matches freshly armed with three Patriot League weekly awards. Senior back Rachel Coll won her second straight Defensive Player of the Week award, freshman forward Ally Hammel snagged the Rookie of the Week award and junior goalkeeper Cammy Jensen earned Goalkeeper of the Week honors.
Hammel drove the Terriers to a 6-1 win against the College of the Holy Cross on Oct. 9, as she banged home her first career hat trick. Offensive production will be a major aspect to watch for BU as they attempt to keep their conference record unblemished against Lehigh (3-9, 0-3 Patriot League).
However, getting to the goal will also be a priority for the Mountain Hawks, with freshman Teresa Carotenuto’s skill posing a major threat. Carotenuto’s nine goals are six more than the next closest Lehigh player.
BU coach Sally Starr said the Terriers will rely on their team defense this weekend.
“We really take pride in our team defense and our ability to really press well, defend well,” she said. “It’s about quality pressure on the ball individually, but it’s really about our collective team defense that really helps us put ourselves in the position to create counterattacks and control the play.”
However, the depth of the Terrier front line sets them apart from the Mountain Hawks. Junior back Bea Baumberger Altirriba has 20 points, junior midfielder Hester van der Laan has 16 points and senior midfielder Sofi Laurito has 13 points.
Sunday’s non-conference game against the Huskies (13-0) will serve as an important test for the Terriers as UConn has shut out its last five opponents, outscoring them by a margin of 42-0.
The Terriers will be up against NCAA-leading goal-scorer sophomore Charlotte Veitner, who has 28 goals and 65 points on the year.
Starr said her team is looking forward to being on the road again.
“I think the biggest thing is just taking one game at a time,” Starr said. “When you have back-to-back games, traveling all weekend, it’s hard to coordinate your focus to just one game, and that first game is a Patriot League game against Lehigh, and Lehigh has been a very good team on their home field. I don’t think their record is indicative of how competitive they can be.”
Starr also added that the upcoming games offer more opportunities for the Terriers to improve themselves as they edge closer to the end of the season. Though Holy Cross (6-8, 1-2 Patriot League) was confidently defeated, the Duke match was as an exercise for the Terrier defense against a type of squad it might face in NCAA Tournament play.
“What I liked in the Duke game that I feel we’re really improving upon is that our pressing continues to get really good but our organization of our team defense is getting much better,” Starr said. “From day one, we just talked about getting better every practice opportunity, and getting better in every game opportunity, and I really feel that we did that this past weekend.”
