After securing a win over the University of Massachusetts Lowell on Feb. 21, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team will head down to North Carolina for a Sunday matchup in Durham against No. 14 Duke University.
The Terriers (1-1) began their fledgling season with an 18-6 loss to then-No.4 Boston College, followed by a 14-10 win against Lowell.
The game will be Duke’s (3-1) sixth of the season, and will follow a matchup against Stanford University that will be played on Friday.
The Blue Devils premiered with a three-game winning streak, but came up short against Virginia Tech last Saturday, losing 17-14.
With their schools separated by hundreds of miles, it’s not often that the Terriers and the Blue Devils square off in the regular season.
The last time the schools met on the field was in 2013, when BU’s season concluded with an 18-9 defeat. The last time before that was in 2010. The Terriers dropped this game as well, by the score of 10-6.
Both teams will now break that hiatus, each with a new set of faces and a new sense of energy.
“They’re a fast, aggressive, ACC team,” BU head coach Liz Robertshaw said. “They bring in top-caliber kids, they play hard, they’re smart on the field and they have the experience of playing on the highest level.”
Last week’s matchup against Lowell (0-2) was quite surreal as it saw three separate Terriers acquire hat-tricks.
Among these players was sophomore attack Kailey Conry, who has already collected a total of five goals, making her the leading scorer for the Terriers so far.
It may only be the Needham native’s second year playing in the program, but Conry has already built up a considerable legacy.
Last year in her inaugural season, Conry led the team in points with 68 and set a program record of 54 assists in a single season. In addition, last year Conry was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team.
Also earning a hat-trick against the River Hawks was senior attack Avery Donahoe. This put her at a total of four goals scored on the season, and she is currently tied for second-leading scorer alongside freshman attack Bridget McCarthy.
The third hat-trick winner from last week’s matchup was McCarthy.
Just two games into her collegiate career, McCarthy is already proving to be a key offensive player. She is someone to keep an eye on.
“It’s been great to see a player like Bridget McCarthy, a freshman forward, to step up and put some points on the board,” Robertshaw said. “It’s not easy to step up in your first couple games, and she’s done so and she’s done a great job.”
Robertshaw was also complimentary of senior defender and co-captain Maria Guerra on the other side of the field.
“She’s been excellent everywhere,” Robertshaw said of Guerra. “On the field, off the field, in practice. She’s kind of set the standard for how we play, and it’s been great to see.”
Hanging in backfield with Guerra is sophomore goalkeeper Bianca Smith.
Having only seen just over five minutes of playing time last season, Smith started against Lowell and has a goal save percentage that currently stands at .450.
Despite the achievements of some Terriers, there exists considerable talent on Duke’s side as well.
Blue Devil freshman attack Charlotte North has already proved to be a harbinger of offensive dominance for the team.
North has scored 15 goals so far, obtaining at least one hat-trick in every one of Duke’s four games, including six goals in a matchup against Campbell University two weeks ago.
Senior midfielder Maddie Crutchfield is also coming off of a hat-trick performance, and currently has nine goals.
Such players will give the Terriers much to think about as they prepare for their journey down to the Tar Heel State, but Robertshaw is confident in the team’s abilities and their work ethic.
“I like how the team is open to getting better every day,” Robertshaw said. “A lot of the teams have already had four or five games. We’ve had two. That’s a lot of practice time for us to drag on, and I think the players have been doing a good job on staying focused, not getting caught up on other games and really just focusing.”
