Liz Robertshaw, head coach of the Boston University women’s lacrosse team, wanted her team to dig deep ahead of its Saturday encounter at Fairfield University.
Everyone from the goaltender to attacks did just that, as the Terriers (1-1) emerged as 13-8 victors over the Stags (1-1). BU’s senior class stepped up in a major way, as midfielder Ally Adams and attacks Jenny Thompson and Mallory Collins combined for 11 goals and two assists.
Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper Christine Laible received her first collegiate start and finished with 10 saves. While many individual performances stuck out, Robertshaw noted that the victory gave BU a certain level of confidence it sorely needed, especially after faltering 18-9 to No. 11 Boston College Feb. 12.
“The win gave our team confidence that we can go up against an NCAA Tournament caliber team,” Robertshaw said. “It showed we can also rebound from a tough loss, which was really a tough one to swallow for the kids. This game, if we came out and played our style of lacrosse and to our standard, we felt we could grab the win.”
Coming into the game, Robertshaw wanted her team to adjust better defensively, and the tall task of managing senior Julieanne Mascera made that all the more difficult. She got the best of Laible on three of her four shots, but the rest of Fairfield’s high-powered offense was kept relatively quiet.
BU also lost the ground ball battle 24-17 but used defensive stops to repeatedly spring fast breaks toward goalkeeper Chelsey Sidaras.
“I was impressed with the way the team came out,” Robertshaw said. “Defensively, it was a great team effort and the first start for sophomore Christine Laible, and those in front of her did a nice job. We had some great caused turnovers and, along with some awesome saves, we had a really strong presence.”
Meanwhile, Robertshaw highlighted how pleasant it was to see her senior class step up in front of goal. After struggling to assert their might against the Eagles (2-1), Adams, Collins and Thompson “surely picked up the slack.”
Another area BU thrived in was the midfield battle, especially in terms of draw controls. Adams won five, and the Terriers as a whole won the often-divisive metric 16-6.
Looking ahead, BU will next take on the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a game that will serve as yet another stern task. The Minutemen (2-0) fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, but have outscored opponents 32-9 in their two games this time around.
With that in mind, Robertshaw noted that it’s important for her team to have a quick memory, build upon the positives from the Fairfield game and continue to hone its weaknesses. The A-10 opponent will offer yet another barometer for a Terrier side that has its sights set on eventually capturing the Patriot League Tournament.
“UMass has proven to be a tough-nosed team,” Robertshaw said. “They go fast, they go hard, they’re extremely aggressive on both ends of the field and we’re going to need to make sure we match that. Our girls are very well aware of that, and competing every moment will be our focus so we’re in a position to battle.”
Jonathan's a New Englander who writes about sports, features and politics. He currently covers men's hockey at BU, worked as Sports Editor during the spring 2016 semester and is on the FreeP's Board of Directors. Toss him a follow on Twitter at @jonathansigal.
