The No. 15 Boston University field hockey team is in the final stretch of its season, heading down to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to take on No. 5 Wake Forest University for its last regular season game.
The Terriers (12-5, 6-0 Patriot League) recently claimed the Patriot League regular season title after going undefeated in conference games this season. They will have home-field advantage in the Patriot League Tournament, which begins next weekend on Nov. 6.
In addition, BU is hot off a 3-2 win against Harvard University on Wednesday night. Senior midfielder Sofi Laurito completed a five-point night, scoring two goals in the game for her 10th and 11th scores of the season. Her 24 points place her in a tie for the team-lead in points with junior fullback Bea Baumberger Altirriba.
Laurito dished the ball to junior forward Sara Martineau, who gave the Terriers a 2-0 lead late in the first half. Junior goalkeeper Cammy Jensen, after being named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week this past Monday, made three saves.
“Your senior leadership is always big,” said BU coach Sally Starr. “Sofi and [senior fullback] Rachel [Coll] have been really good captains for us this year. [Senior fullback] Katie Bernatchez had a really tough injury a couple of weeks ago where she’s been out, but she’s still providing leadership in a really positive way with a really good attitude.”
“Even [senior fullback] Rachel Feig doesn’t get to play a whole lot, but she’s such an example in practice with her work ethic and with her voice in the locker room,” Starr added.
Wake Forest (12-4) is having a stellar season, and is riding a two-game win streak after beating both No. 3 University of North Carolina and Davidson College. The Demon Deacons have won seven of their last nine games, losing to No. 7 University of Virginia and No. 1 Syracuse University.
Additionally, Wake Forest holds the No. 2 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. With those accomplishments in mind, Starr stressed that proper preparation can prepare her side for such a sterling opponent.
“I think the biggest thing is that we continue to put the emphasis on ourselves,” Starr said. “We really have to make sure that our fundamentals are good, such as our tackling, elimination skills, passing, first touch and our decision-making on the ball.”
“Those things are constants week-to-week,” Starr added. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, you look at the teams we’re playing and try to come up with a game plan that we think will be effective against them.”
Senior Jess Newak leads the team in both points and goals with 30 and 11, respectively. Freshman Jule Grashoff closely follows Newak with 24 points this season and 10 goals.
Goalkeeper Valerie Dahmen has played in all 16 games this season for the Demon Deacons and boasts a .773 save percentage. This week, Dahmen earned ACC Defensive Player of the Week.
The Terriers, however, are looking forward to matching their skill level up to the Demon Deacons and are not afraid of putting their best talents forward, Starr said.
“We’re really beginning to play very well,” she said. “The team is getting a lot of confidence in themselves, they’re getting excited about how they’re playing. We’re really looking forward to making the trip down to Wake Forest this weekend.”
Ranya currently covers field hockey and women’s hockey for the Daily Free Press. As a Biology major at BU, she spends much of her time buried in her Chemistry textbook with the occasional trip to the piano practice room to rehearse her favorite piece, Debussy’s "Claire de Lune." She is an avid ice hockey fan and a proud supporter of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
