Following a 16-11 victory over the University of New Hampshire, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team will face off against the American University at Nickerson Field in its final game of the regular season.
The Terriers (8-7, 5-3 Patriot League) are now on a three-game winning streak, and are using this late season surge to move up the ranks of the Patriot League.
Meanwhile, American University (3-12, 1-7 Patriot League) has been in the midst of a difficult season. The Eagles tied for last place in the Patriot League and has dropped seven of its last eight games, including three losses by 10 goals or more.
However, the Terriers will not be taking this matchup lightly. While American has had very little success in league play, the Terriers will need to play great lacrosse if they want to come away with a win.
“I have [been concerned about the win margins],” said BU head coach Liz Robertshaw. “I think I’ve also had to readjust my thinking and not worry about the score of the game, but instead making sure my team executes the game plan. And in those tight games against Holy Cross and Army, we weren’t doing that particularly well. I think we got back to that in the second half of last night’s game [against UNH], and I’m going to focus on that … for Saturday’s game, and not really worry about a margin.”
History is on the Terriers’ side, as BU has defeated the Eagles in their annual regular season matchup for three straight years, but both teams’ rosters are constantly changing and this year’s matchup is anyone’s game.
The Eagles are led by junior attacker Jennifer DeSimone, who leads the team in goals and points with 39 and 42 respectively. While senior midfielder Sarah Bootman leads in assists with 13.
These players were some of American’s top performers in last year’s matchup where the Terriers beat the Eagles 14-4, as DeSimone scored two goals and Bootman collected a pair of assists.
Stopping this duo, as well as playing strong team defense, will be the keys to BU’s game plan.
Despite it being late in the season, the Terriers are still experimenting to find the lineups that best suit them.
“I feel like we’re really focusing on continuing to get better and seeing what combinations of people click,” Robertshaw said. “We’ve had some different people get on the field for us and they’ve done some nice things, but there’s always some tweaking going on with the starting lineup, just to find that right combination.”
BU will continue to look to players like freshman attacker Kailey Conry, senior attacker Elisabeth Jayne and junior attacker Mickenzie Larivee to make big plays on offense.
Larivee has been having a phenomenal season, scoring 36 goals, including four in the recent win against New Hampshire (3-13, 3-3 Patriot League).
Conry has been terrific at setting up teammates, leading the league in assists per game by a landslide with 3.36 per contest. The Needham native set up eight goals for teammates against New Hampshire and scored three of her own.
Her continued development as a dual threat over the last few games will likely play a role in how the Terriers fare on Saturday afternoon.
Robertshaw said she is looking forward to the opportunities that Conry will continue to create for her teammates.
“Because she’s now a dual threat … being a goal scorer and assister, I think it makes her someone that on the scouting report people will look to potentially safeguard quickly,” Robertshaw said. “And I think that can open up looks for Jayne, Larivee, [junior attacker] Avery Donahoe and [senior attacker] Taylor Hardison, who have all proven to be extremely successful scoring themselves.”
Expectations are also high for Jayne, who has scored 28 goals in what has been a remarkable breakout senior season.
“I think it’s my job to remind them of their own goals,” Robertshaw said. “They sat in a room, and they said they wanted to win a conference championship, and as the coaching staff, we’ve tried to help them get there. And that’s something that I remind them, so any time it’s looking a little sluggish, I’m like, ‘Remember your goals. Remember why you’re here, why you’ve worked for eight months, all these hours you’ve put in. Don’t let it go to waste because you’re a little tired right now. Remember your goals, and let’s get after it.’”
