The Boston University women’s lacrosse team suffered a 19-7 loss to the Dartmouth College this Wednesday at Nickerson Field in its second home game of the season.
Coming off a win against University of Massachusetts Lowell on Saturday, the Terriers (1-2) were unable to replicate the same scoring ability they showed in a 12-7 win.
Freshman Kiera Vrindten led the Big Green (4-0), as she stopped 16 shots in the net, many of which were forced due to Dartmouth’s defensive presence.
“We needed to follow the game plan,” said BU head coach Liz Robertshaw. “The shots that went in were the shot placements that we talked about — where to score on her in the scouting report. The majority of her saves were exactly where we said she was lights out. We said she was a little weaker in some other spots and the goals that went in were the people who shot to those spots.”
Defensively, the Terriers struggled to shut down Dartmouth’s aggressive attack led by senior Taryn Deck, who finished with four goals and two assists, and midfielder Elizabeth Mastrio, who added five goals and one assist. Deck earned a hat trick just under 15 minutes into the game. Dartmouth controlled the momentum from the start of the first half with early goals.
Just a minute following her team’s first goal, Deck advanced Dartmouth’s lead to 2-0 with another goal past senior goaltender Caroline Meegan. However, senior attacker Elisabeth Jayne scored early to get the Terriers on the board.
The Terriers were only able to add two more goals in the first half, coming from junior attacker Avery Donahoe and sophomore midfielder Kelly Mathews, while Dartmouth added six more. Dartmouth led 10-4 by the finish of the half.
The Terriers were outmatched on all fronts. Robertshaw said she hopes her young team takes the loss on their home turf personally.
“I hope they take this seriously,” Robertshaw said. “If you’re someone who’s shooting less than 50 percent, you should be taking it personally and doing the work on your own. I just think that the players themselves need to take a little bit more accountability for it.”
Meegan saved seven shots in the first half, but BU struggled to defend the onslaught from Dartmouth.
“From a goaltender perspective I didn’t think she was seeing the ball,” Robertshaw said. “They kept shooting high on her, which we talked about, but the adjustment wasn’t made.”
The Big Green tacked on nine more goals in the second half. While Jayne earned herself a hat trick with two more goals, the Terriers added only one other goal from junior midfielder Sarah Andersen in the second half.
“We need to tighten up our offensive looks, and we need to get more people in the scoring column,” Robertshaw said.
Dartmouth went on a roll following Jayne’s and Andersen’s goals in the second half, responding with six goals in a row to seal the deal before Jayne scored her third with just over six minutes left to play.
Robertshaw said the Terriers’ midfield must step up for coming games, as the Terriers hold a young group of full-field players with potential who she feels haven’t quite lived up to it yet.
“To ask for [the freshman] to be consistent is a challenge,” Robertshaw said. “I think they can do it. I don’t know if they believe that.”
The Terriers will take on San Diego State University and the University of Southern California this coming week where they expect tough matchups. However, Robertshaw is ready to handle any difficulty after playing a Dartmouth squad that attacked with relentless energy on Wednesday.
“I don’t know if they will come out at us harder than Dartmouth,” Robertshaw said.
