It took the Boston University women’s soccer team seven games to pick up its first win of the season. Ever since, the Terriers have torn through their schedule with confidence and ease, accumulating five more wins, a tie and one loss.
The Terriers (6-5-3, 4-0-1 Patriot League), still unbeaten in the Patriot League, will face conference foe Lehigh University on Saturday at Nickerson Field.
Lehigh (6-5-3, 1-2-2 Patriot League) will be pushing for a win to improve its chances of making it to the Patriot League Tournament after a two-year drought.
BU, the two-time defending Patriot League champion, will be well rested when it faces the Mountain Hawks, as the Terriers last took the field this past Saturday in a 4-0 shutout win over Lafayette College.
“It’s a really good time for a gap between games,” Feldman said. “They got a few days off without school which hasn’t happened since the beginning [of the season]. That’s huge for a mental and physical break. We got a chance to work on some things. I feel like we accomplished a lot [over the break].”
Both teams boast strong presences in goal as senior goalkeeper Alyssa Parisi has two shutouts on the season, while Lehigh senior Ani Nahapetian has four shutouts of her own. Nahapetian leads the league in saves with 83, averaging 5.93 per game.
A fresh face on the Mountain Hawks is responsible for nearly a third of their offense. Freshman Sabrina Mertz has scored seven of her team’s 24 goals this year. She has three game-winning goals and 17 points, tied for second in the league.
Feldman said regardless of how good an opposing player is, her team focuses on its own performance in controlling possession and limiting the opposing team’s touches.
“We know they have a good team, and have a good goalkeeper and some potent attackers,” Feldman said. “I don’t look at it as if we take care of one player it will lead us to victory. We have to control possession and defend in their half of the field.”
Lehigh defender Laura Courtney has three goals this season, good for second on her team. The Lehigh offense tapers off after Courtney as four players have two goals, and six have a goal apiece.
The Terriers do not have a player equivalent to Mertz, as their offense has more depth. Freshman striker McKenna Doyle leads the Terriers with four goals. Senior forward Jenna Fisher and junior forward Erica Kosienski are close behind with three tallies each. Four Terriers have two goals, and four more have one goal.
BU may have the momentum going into the match this weekend, but it is lacking a clear advantage. Both teams have identical overall records and Feldman agreed that even stylistically, Lehigh is more similar to BU than most other teams they have faced this season.
“I know we play similar systems and styles,” Feldman said. “They may be a hair more direct than we are. They are equally as physical and committed to defending. [However], until you face a team across the line, you only see videos and hear scouting reports.”
