After an impressive 9-0 rout of Colgate University to open up Patriot League play, the No. 9 Boston University field hockey team faces two important matchups this weekend.
On Friday night the Terriers (7-0, 1-0 Patriot League) will travel to face Lafayette College in a Patriot League showdown. The Leopards (5-2) will be competing in their first conference game of the year.
“It’s a road trip, it’s a big game,” said BU head coach Sally Starr. “Lafayette’s having a really good season, they’re a very good attacking team.”
Players to watch for the Leopards are freshman Rosa Jonckheer, junior Rosie Shanks and senior Amanda Magadan.
Jonckheer, the most recent recipient of the Patriot League Rookie of the Week award, leads Lafayette with four goals scored, which is the most scored by a freshman for Lafayette since 2011.
Shanks and Magadan have each netted three goals, and Magadan was recently named a Patriot League Honorable Mention for scoring a goal and assisting on the other in a 2-0 victory over Towson.
BU’s sophomore fullback Ally Hammel also picked up an accolade recently, as she was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for her outstanding game against Colgate (1-8). Hammel had a career-high six points while pioneering the Terrier defense in an effort where no shots on goal were allowed.
Lafayette is the final team in the Patriot League to begin its conference play while BU is the last remaining undefeated team in the conference and one of just five in the nation.
Sunday’s tilt at New Balance Field should be quite a show as the Terriers take on fellow top-ranked No. 3 University of Connecticut in a battle of two undefeated squads.
The Huskies (7-0) were most recently ranked as the third best team in the country in the Sept. 20 National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll. BU was ranked ninth for the second consecutive week, sharing the honor with rival Boston College, who moved up nine spots to crack the top 10.
Sunday’s matchup will be the second time BU and UConn have faced off this season. In a preseason tilt, the Huskies were able to best the Terriers 4-1 on home turf.
Although the matchup with UConn is upcoming, Starr’s squad is taking a one-game-at-a-time approach.
“Obviously our next game on our schedule is versus Lafayette,” Starr said. “It is really, really important that we aren’t looking past them. It’s a huge conference game for us, they’re a talented team. I really think all of our energy and focus right now needs to be on Friday night, then after that we can get ourselves ready for UConn.”
The Husky squad is led by junior forward Charlotte Veitner, who has netted eight goals and tallied six assists. Senior defender Anna Middendorf and sophomore forward Amanda Collins have scored six goals apiece for the Huskies. Collins has also recorded six assists in the potent Husky offense.
In what looks to be the Terriers’ most important weekend thus far, only time will tell how BU matches up with an opponent ranked higher. In previous matchups, the Terriers were always the higher-ranked team, and in this case not only are they the underdogs, but they have a chance to knock off one of the final undefeated teams, which could propel the team into the nation’s top five.
However, Friday’s matchup is the first order of business for the Terriers.
“All of our focus right now is 100 percent on Lafayette,” Starr said. “Our coaches are doing preparation for UConn right now, looking at games, that type of work, getting some edits done. So we are not cramming for UConn, but as far as the team as concerned it’s 100 percent focused on Lafayette.”
