The No. 9 Boston University field hockey team won its seventh straight match this Saturday against Colgate University 9-0 at New Balance Field. The Terriers (7-0, 1-0 Patriot League) topped the Raiders (1-8, 0-1 Patriot League) in their first Patriot League contest of the season.
The nationally ranked Terriers have now won seven straight games for the first time since the team won eight in a row in 2005.
In the first half, BU dominated offensively despite going scoreless. Just over five minutes into the game, senior captain and forward Amanda Cassera had an opportunity from the top of the circle, but it ended up going high and wide of the net.
In seven penalty corner opportunities in the first half, the Terriers were unable to capitalize on any of them. There were several close calls, however, especially with 18 shots coming Colgate goalkeeper Maria Krull’s way in first half.
“We just weren’t as smart in the goal-scoring area,” BU head coach Sally Starr said. “Making the extra pass, really getting [Krull] moving a little bit more.”
In the second half, the Terriers were able to control possession and get into a groove offensively.
“The biggest thing was just really unlocking the goal,” Starr said. “Making the extra pass, being smarter in the goal area, tracking a little bit better. But the biggest thing was just making the extra pass, which we didn’t do in the first half.”
On BU’s second penalty corner of the second half, senior midfielder and captain Hester van der Laan passed the ball on the left side to sophomore forward Ally Hammel, who was able to get a pass to sophomore midfielder/back Allie Doggett. Doggett shot the ball straight past Krull, giving the Terriers a 1-0 advantage.
“That’s a play we’ve been working on,” Starr said. “Different teams have different corner defenses and you leave different things open. That was a section that I felt [Colgate] was leaving open for us, so it was nice to see us execute beautifully.”
From then on, the Terriers’ offense switched into high gear, closing the game with nine unanswered goals.
Three of the other goals scored in the second frame resulted from penalty corners as well. About seven minutes after the Doggett’s goal, Hammel gave BU a 2-0 lead on a shot from the top of the circle.
Junior midfielder/fullback Allie Renzi increased the lead to 3-0 after dancing around the Colgate defense and grabbing the second rebound shot into the net. Hammel tallied her second goal of the game of a penalty corner opportunity after a pass from senior forward Taylor Blood less than two minutes later.
Just over halfway into frame, Blood netted her third goal of the season off another penalty corner on a pass from Hammel.
The final four goals scored for the Terriers came from four different players, but three were assisted by senior forward Madeline McClain.
“It’s always different people scoring,” Starr said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s our first line or our second line. As you can see we’re substituting pretty freely, pretty regularly, really keeping fresh bodies on the field.
“I don’t think we lose a step,” Starr said. “It doesn’t matter who’s on the field.”
Ranya currently covers field hockey and women’s hockey for the Daily Free Press. As a Biology major at BU, she spends much of her time buried in her Chemistry textbook with the occasional trip to the piano practice room to rehearse her favorite piece, Debussy’s "Claire de Lune." She is an avid ice hockey fan and a proud supporter of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
