The Boston University women’s soccer team will continue the search for its first victory of the season against Northeastern University on Thursday at Nickerson Field. This will be the last game for the Terriers (0-8) before Patriot League play begins this Sunday, Sept. 18 at Bucknell University.
The Huskies (3-4-1) are off to a solid start, but are coming off the heels of a heartbreaking double overtime loss to Boston College Sunday afternoon.
The Terriers, on the other hand, may be winless, but there are certainly some positive takeaways for the team after the first eight games of the season. Although they have only scored twice this season, BU has gotten better at creating offensive opportunities, as the team has put up more than 10 shots each in three of its last four games.
BU head coach Nancy Feldman said her team is going to stayed focused on making improvements day in and day out.
“We want to continue to grow our ability to maintain possession, and continue to do better under pressure,” Feldman said. “It’s important to maintain our poise under pressure.”
One of the areas Feldman needs to see her team improve in is generating offense. Plenty of Terrier players have the ability to be goal-scoring threats, but it hasn’t shown up on the scoreboard yet.
Feldman, now in her 22nd season with the Terriers, considers senior forwards Erica Kosienski, sophomore McKenna Doyle and junior Christina Wakefield some of the more formidable offensive weapons in her arsenal. She also named junior midfielder Jesse Shreck and sophomore midfielders Julianna Chen and Dorrie Varley-Barrett among the top finishers on the team.
“They are all attackers who have the ability to score,” Feldman said. “We also have newcomer [freshman midfielder] Ann Marie Jaworski. She’s a talented attacking player.”
Although Varley-Barrett and Doyle are the only Terriers to find net so far, Feldman said she believes her team has a lot of offensive depth.
“We aren’t built around one kid,” Feldman said. “We have multiple threats.”
One of the more difficult tasks for BU on Thursday will be getting one past Husky sophomore goalkeeper Nathalie Nidetch. She’s stood strong in net for Northeastern, having played every single minute this season. The Hewlett, New York native has two shutouts to her name and a 0.817 save percentage.
“She’s a tall player,” Feldman said. “We face a lot of good goaltenders. Our team doesn’t change. We really make it about how well we can play into the final third and getting shots closer to the goal.”
While the Terrier offense works on converting shots to goals, the defense will handle the task of shutting down a few superior athletes on Northeastern’s side.
Sophomore Hannah Rosenblatt leads the Huskies with three goals and two assists thus far. She’s definitely an offensive threat, as two of her goals have been game-winners. Redshirt junior Taylor Caparo also has three goals, and four other Huskies have found the back of the net.
Despite only averaging 1.5 goals per contest, Northeastern is an aggressive team. They put up an average of 15.3 shots a game compared to the Terriers’ 10.6.
Junior defender Alivya Wimmer and senior defender Rachel Bloznalis will be among those tasked with shutting down the Huskies’ offensive attack. They both have a strong presence on the field and often minimize opportunities for the other side. Sophomore defender Chelsea Churchill has also stepped up. Not only has she been a potent defender for the Terriers, but she has also stepped up and contributed on the offensive end as well. The Carlsbad, California native has one assist so far this season.
Despite their less-than-stellar start, the Terriers must show up confident and prepared in order to take down a solid Northeastern team and tally their first win Thursday night.
