Facing a hefty halftime deficit, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team looked down for the count Saturday afternoon at Lafayette College.
But, as has been the case so often throughout the 2016 season, the Terriers (6-6, 4-2 Patriot League) responded to the adversity and showed a strong second half to secure a 15-10 victory over the Leopards (5-8, 1-4 Patriot League).
Given first-half struggles abound, few could have predicted BU’s buccaneering performance, especially given its inconsistent start to the game.
“Defensively, we were a little bit off-kilter,” said BU head coach Liz Robertshaw. “I don’t think we did a great enough job of slowing down their top players, and we just didn’t do a good job at closing the open looks that both [freshman Emma] Novick and [junior Kirsten] Wilhelmsen had on cage, so I thought we could’ve done a better job with that.”
Novick and Wilhelmsen fired in a combined five goals past junior goalkeeper Caroline Meegan and were the dominant reason for the Leopards’ 8-5 lead at the interval. Come the second 30-minute stanza, the Terriers’ performance was a complete reversal from their initial struggles.
Led by dynamic performances from senior attack Mallory Collins and freshman attack Kaitlin Belval, BU embarked on a 5-0 run and never looked back. They each finished with four points, and senior midfielder Remy Nolan and freshman midfielder Kelly Matthews finished with a combined four goals and three assists.
“First thing is [that] we committed to getting the draw control, and Mallory Collins was a huge factor in that,” Robertshaw said. “On attack, we had some great goals. I think the fact that you see three goals and four points from Mallory Collins, and even [contributions] from freshman Katie Belval and Remy Nolan and Kelly Matthews, those are big-time point productions for a lot of these players.”
While Robertshaw took note of her team’s offensive strengths, there were considerable defensive strides made in the second half. Just two of Lafayette’s nine second-half shots beat Meegan, and the Terrier backline held Novick and Wilhelmsen to just one combined point courtesy of the former’s 30th goal of the season.
“Defensively, we played a more team-oriented defense,” Robertshaw said of her team’s second-half performance. “Caroline had a great second half in cage. She made some point-blank stops and saves that really changed the game. When she made some of those saves, the team felt confident and then we would go down and score on them. Any time your defense makes big-time stops and then your attack capitalizes on the other end, your team is just going to gain more and more confidence, and that’s definitely something that happened.”
After leaving Easton, Pennsylvania with maximum points in hand, the Terriers etched another chapter in what’s been a back-and-forth season. They now return to Nickerson Field on Wednesday to host the University of New Hampshire, where a win would put them above .500 for the first time this season.
Mindful of that, Robertshaw pointed out that her team has an incredible amount of fight, and it’s a characteristic she loves about this edition of the scarlet and white.
“I believe this team is resilient,” Robertshaw said. “I believe this team has character and grit and will fight to win a game. For some reason or another, we like being down and fighting back, and we kind of want to change that mentality. But overall, I just think they showed tremendous heart and resilience in this game and going and fighting for what they wanted. They wanted the win, and they went and got it.”
