Despite a fast start and continuous back-and-forth action, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team dropped a 15-13 decision to Dartmouth University Tuesday afternoon away from home.
Looking to bounce back from their loss to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Terriers (1-3) were neck and neck with the Big Green but fell just short in the end.
BU head coach Liz Robertshaw said her team didn’t stick to the game plan when it came to slowing down Dartmouth’s (3-1) star player, senior Jaclyn Leto, who scored a career-high eight goals.
“We just wanted to try and slow her down in terms of playing her one-on-one, and I felt that there were times where we did that very well and times where we were very poor in that execution,” Robertshaw said.
Outside of besting sophomore goalkeeper Christine Laible, Leto also grabbed four ground balls and assisted on another Big Green tally.
“We let [Leto] go on the free position, and she ended up being two-for-two, and we can’t allow that to happen,” Robertshaw said. “She scored a good handful of their goals when they were a man up as well, so it’s just a situation where we need to do a better job as a team trying to stop these dominant players from scoring as much. We haven’t done a good job of that these past two games, and we need to be better about it.”
Another defining factor of the game was BU’s lack of discipline. Four different players combined to receive six yellow cards, making it hard to pull ahead or stage a comeback.
“First and foremost, we have to be a team that is more disciplined rather than fouling,” Robertshaw said. “We had six yellow cards, and that’s a lot to ask of your defense to try and play a man down for that amount of time. That’s one thing we need to clean up.”
Outside of struggling with Leto and penalties, Robertshaw thought her team could have done more to grab control of the contest. Neither team opened up more than a two-goal lead until 11:55 was left in the contest, at which point Dartmouth held a 13-10 lead.
“I think we need to adjust a little bit better when the other team pushes back,” Robertshaw said. “We need to stick to the game plan and make sure that we follow it and execute it a little bit better, which I don’t think we did consistently.”
A highlight of the contest was BU’s underclassmen stepping up in a major way. The sophomore attack duo of Avery Donahoe and Mickenzie Larivee combined for six Terrier goals, while sophomore midfielder Caroline English scored on two of her three shots.
There efforts were also supported by the ever-present Ally Adams. The senior midfielder contributed three goals and two assists, pacing BU’s offensive game.
“I think we needed to see more players stepping up and taking risks on the attack and take great shots,” Robertshaw said. “We saw that today from Avery Donahoe, Caroline English and Mickenzie Larivee. I thought that was great to see. Ally Adams had a big game scoring-wise as well. We just need to continue seeing more players step up. It will benefit the team in the long run.”
Looking ahead, BU will turn the page and prepare for Patriot League play. The team will travel to face American University March 8 and has its sights set on building confidence and improving in all areas of the field.
“I would like to see the team come out even faster,” Robertshaw said. “The energy level was great for our team, from the warmups to the end of the game, and I would like to see those energy levels continue. I would like to see the team build confidence, have faith and execute the game plan that is put in front of them. “
