With a chance for the Boston University women’s soccer team to make it into the NCAA Tournament, time was of the essence against Bucknell University.
Then, an unfamiliar face made her presence felt in a big way Sunday afternoon.
Freshman defender Chelsea Churchill, who going into Sunday’s Patriot League Championship game had logged just 420 minutes of playing time throughout the season, scored her first career goal against the Bison (11-6-3, 6-1-2 Patriot League) all the way back on Sept. 20.
On Sunday, after Churchill was substituted in for freshman midfielder Julianna Chen in the 79th minute, it was her rocket of a shot past Bucknell goalkeeper Jessica Ratner in the 86th minute that broke the 0-0 deadlock and sent the Terriers (12-5-3, 8-0-1 Patriot League) to their third consecutive Patriot League crown and NCAA Tournament appearance.
As BU coach Nancy Feldman knows, it’s not the first time that Churchill, a player that Feldman thought should have made the Patriot League All-Tournament Team following her winning goal, was inserted into a moment like the one presented on Sunday.
“She has been put into those situations a number of times this year,” Feldman said. “She hasn’t played a boatload of minutes, but if you’ve looked back the past five or six games, we’ve entered her in games, but as soon as she enters in, she’s in the flow and makes stuff happen.
“It was actually [associate head coach] Casey Brown that said near the end, ‘Jules is out of gas. Let’s get Chelsea in’,” Feldman added. “Casey made a great suggestion. We put her in, we’re confident in her and she’s a sparkplug. She’s a great super sub, and her future is bright here.”
In a game ripe with opportunities, both teams traded shots in the opening half of play. Contrary to the stats that show BU outshot Bucknell 9-3 and had five shots on goal compared to just two for its opponent, it was the Bison, who, going into the match, were riding a nine-match unbeaten streak, that had the more threatening chances on Terrier senior goalkeeper Alyssa Parisi.
The Bisons’ best chance at scoring in the first half came in the 30th minute when forward Alexis Gannon raced down the BU sideline and sent in a cross towards the Terrier box. The ball fell right to the foot of teammate Riley Coopersmith, whose shot beat Parisi, but not the crossbar, and it ricocheted out of danger for a BU clearance.
BU’s best opportunity in the first period came off another set piece play from junior defender Rachel Bloznalis. Bloznalis’ free kick in the 22nd minute was bending towards the bottom corner of Ratner’s goal only for the Bucknell netminder to make an athletic, full-stretch save that kept the set-piece specialist from scoring her second goal in as many games.
Junior substitute Alexandra Cooper had four shots on goal for the game, but none were as dangerous as her first two shots to open the second half.
Just 73 seconds after halftime, Cooper was running rampant down the left side, cut back into the Bison box and bent in a right-footed shot struck the crossbar and fell away from danger.
The midfielder’s misfortunes again went on display in the 59th minute when, after some skillful footwork, she launched a left-footed volley towards Ratner that once again beamed off the woodwork and out for a goal kick.
The Terrier backline showed worrying signs of breaking in the first half, but regrouped and allowed just one second-half shot in a game where Patriot League Defender of the Year McKenzie Hollenbaugh was clearly in pain throughout.
“She is a warrior,” Feldman said of the senior defender. “We’ve had a lot of competitive people in this program. She’s the most competitive. She takes it personally if a player takes a touch on the ball. … She wants to shut people down. Not just defend them, but eliminate them.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but there was no way she was coming off that field. She wouldn’t have allowed it.”
When BU opened the season on a six-match winless streak, it could have easily cracked. However, it didn’t, and now Feldman’s team is dancing for a third successive year.
“One thing that I credit this group for is their positivity,” Feldman said. “Even when we were winless and struggling to find some wins, they stayed positive, and that was the turnaround.”
