The No. 15 Boston University field hockey team travels across town to face Harvard University on Wednesday night on the heels of an impressive 6-0 shutout of Bucknell University on Saturday.
With their victory this weekend on Senior Day, the Terriers (11-5, 6-0 Patriot League) clinched their first-ever regular season Patriot League title and claimed home-field advantage in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.
Freshman forward Kara Enoch proved to be a standout player against the Bison (8-9, 3-2 Patriot League), scoring her second goal of the season on a breakaway. This led to her being named Patriot League Rookie of the Week.
Junior goalkeeper Cammy Jensen also nabbed Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors following a consistent and reliable performance as the Terriers’ top goalkeeper.
However, the real Terrier to watch in Wednesday’s match will be senior fullback Rachel Coll, who scored two goals Saturday. The Greymouth, New Zealand, native now has five goals and five assists on the season, and is fourth on the team in points with 15.
The Patriot League responded by awarding Coll Defensive Player of the Week accolades. It marked the third time she has received the accolade in the past four weeks.
BU coach Sally Starr described co-captain Coll as well-deserving of the awards, earned through her hard work throughout the regular season.
“She’s a senior, she’s a captain and I’m just really happy for her,” Starr said. “Across the board, we just have a lot of people playing really well for us and I think Rachel is one of those.”
However, Harvard (7-6) also boasts a number of strong players, despite its current three-game losing streak. Junior Marissa Balleza is leading the Crimson in goals scored with 10, and she also paces the team in total points with 24.
She is followed close behind by senior Elizabeth Jacobson, with 20 points, and freshman Kathleen Young with 10 points.
When taking the field Wednesday, the Terriers’ main focus will be maintaining momentum.
“I really feel that we’ve just gotten better and better and better,” Starr said. “We’re practicing well, we’re focused, we have good team energy, team chemistry, going for us. Harvard’s a very improved team, a well-coached team, and it’s going to be a really difficult contest for us, and in some ways that makes me happy because it will help us to truly prepare for our postseason tournament that is about a week and a half away.”
Despite the game’s mid-week placement, Starr elaborated that the players will be focused only on competitive play.
“Just going out there, playing hard, playing smart and getting better,” Starr said. “Should be a great hockey game, we’re looking forward to it. It’s our one and only mid-week game that we’ve had all year, so that creates a whole different scenario for us but it’s close to home, it’s literally right down the road.”
The Patriot League Tournament will be on the minds of all Terriers who step on the field Wednesday, as they are reminded that their well-earned home-field advantage is something that BU has not seen in its brief history in the conference.
“This will be our first time to have a true home-field advantage for a conference tournament since 2000,” Starr said. “Since then we’ve hosted tournaments at Harvard, we’ve hosted tournaments at MIT, but we have not hosted a tournament on our campus since 2000.”
