After a three-game home stand, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team took to the road Wednesday evening and secured a 14-11 win over Colgate University.
The game marked the third win in four games for the Terriers (5-5, 3-1 Patriot League), as they now rest at .500 with six games left in the regular season. Senior attack Mallory Collins led the scoring for BU with four goals on five shots, while senior midfielders Ally Adams and Jill Horka combined for five goals. Junior goalkeeper Caroline Meegan made 12 saves in the contest.
The Raiders (3-6, 2-1 Patriot League) found the back of the net first when attack Taylor Fischer fired the ball past Meegan only 3:14 into the game. Less than one minute later, the Terriers responded when senior midfielder Remy Nolan found the back of the net for her seventh goal of the year.
“[Colgate] had us on our heels,” said BU head coach Liz Robertshaw. “I think they really wanted this win and went really hard against us in the first half and through the course of the game.”
The Terriers responded to a 3-0 Raider run with two late goals from freshman attack Molly Kern and sophomore midfielder Sarah Andersen, but still trailed 6-5 at the half. With her team behind heading into the locker room, Robertshaw said she challenged her team to assert itself more.
“I needed to see this team wanted to win this game and wanted to win the conference,” Robertshaw said. “I just wasn’t feeling it in the first half, so I point blank challenged a few players.”
The Terriers accepted their coach’s challenge and built on the momentum they gained at the end of the first with four unanswered goals. Within the first minute, Collins tied the game off a pass from junior attack Taylor Hardison. Twelve seconds later, Collins would again find the back of the net to give the Terriers a 7-6 lead. Horka and Hardison concluded the run with tallies of their own.
The second half was dominated by the Terriers, who scored eight goals and allowed only five. Robertshaw said BU’s ability to comeback was a result of its determination.
“I think it shows a lot of character,” Robertshaw said. “I think it shows a lot of heart for each other.”
However, the Raiders threatened a comeback in the last two minutes. With 2:09 to play, the Raiders cut BU’s lead with a goal from senior Emily Peebles. The Raiders, this time through Fisher, scored just 24 seconds later to make it a 13-10 game.
The Terriers made another mistake that would prove costly when Horka received a yellow card, leaving the Terriers shorthanded. The Raiders capitalized on the advantage when midfielder Isabel Kreitler beat Meegan short side. With only 1:28 left in the second half, the Raiders were suddenly only trailing 13-11.
However, Meegan came up big for the Terriers down the stretch. She faced 28 shots and made 12 saves.
The Terriers put the game out of reach for good when Collins beat goalkeeper Asil Asfour off a pass from Andersen. It was for her fourth tally of the game and 20th of the season. Now down by three, the Raiders were unable to complete their comeback as time expired.
After Thursday night’s result, BU sits fourth and Colgate sits third in the Patriot League standings. BU will next square off against Lehigh University this Saturday at Nickerson Field.
