After a convincing Saturday road win over Lafayette College, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team will try and build momentum when it hosts the University of New Hampshire Wednesday night in its final non-conference game of the 2016 season.
Only four games remain until BU (6-6, 4-2 Patriot League) could be in the playoffs, and a victory over the Wildcats (6-6) would go a long way in making that goal a reality.
Although the Terriers had a slow weekend against the Leopards (5-8, 1-4 Patriot League), they pulled it together by opening the second half with five consecutive goals and eventually outscored Lafayette 10-2 in the stanza.
BU head coach Liz Robertshaw appreciated her team coming together defensively, she said, but also regarded that slow starts need to be replaced by a more cohesive game on defense.
“As a team, we want to prepare for the game well,” Robertshaw said. “Our defenders have a goal every single game, and one of those goals is coming out hard and playing aggressively. If we can avoid the slower start, we are going to do just that. Right now, we are just taking it one game at a time.”
While BU came out on top against Lafayette, the result shed light on the Terriers’ tendency to be inconsistent — the team hasn’t strung together more than two consecutive wins in 2016. To fend off that trend, Robertshaw said she wants her team to play a well-rounded game while sticking to the game plan.
“It’s focusing on the little things, whether it’s picking up ground balls, working on our shooting and things like that,” Robertshaw said. “I wish there was a quick fix for consistency, but that’s just not the case. We are working with student-athletes that have a lot on their plate, and right now the biggest thing we are looking for is effort.”
The Wildcats are enjoying a three-game winning streak, but the Terriers will try and put that to a halt. UNH most recently knocked off the University of Vermont 12-9 and limited the Catamounts (5-8) to just two goals in the first half.
UNH possesses a solid offensive game (10.42 goals per game) led by young talented attacks, with sophomores Carly Wooters (21 goals) and Krissy Schafer (20 goals) emerging as go-to scoring threats.
Robertshaw said she expects her team to do the same against UNH’s top goal scorers, as they’ve done with other elite players, by keeping the ball away from their sticks and controlling the play.
“We need to make sure that we are aggressive on the draw control and that we battle UNH for them,” Robertshaw said. “The key is going to be making sure that we keep the ball in our attacking zone and away from their top players. We definitely need to be aware of their leading scorers when they are on the field, and especially when they are in our zone.”
Similarly to BU’s team, Robertshaw said, UNH is driven by its seniors. Attacks Laura McHoul and Nicole Grote top the Wildcats in points with 38 and 33, respectively. With players young and old leading the charge, Robertshaw cautioned that BU ought to respect the Wildcats from the opening whistle.
“We need to make sure that we respect them and not go into the game underestimating them,” Robertshaw said. “We want to make sure that their space is taken away. The main goal is to have the ball in our hands more than theirs.”
