Despite its 1-12 record, Boston University women’s lacrosse is focusing on the small victories in each game. The Terriers have faced off against a number of ranked schools, including No. 1 Boston College, No. 7 Loyola Maryland and the No. 24 United States Naval Academy.
“We’re just trying to try to get better with each day as much as we can,” head coach Lauren Morton said.
BU’s lack of consistency haunts losses as well as its sole win
The Terriers finally got a tally in the win column 12 games into the season against Merrimack College on April 6. Right out of the gate the team looked more promising and began the game on a four-goal run, something the team hadn’t been able to do all season.
“We came out strong defensively, which allowed us offensively to play our game,” Morton said about the win. “We’ve put ourselves in some situations where we’re kind of clawing out of being down, which I think puts a lot of pressure on our young offense.”
BU never gave up the lead in the game, but allowed Merrimack to remain in the match with a five-goal run in the fourth which brought the score as close as 16-15. Ultimately, the Terriers tacked on a final goal to secure a 17-15 win.
“In the third and fourth quarter I think we kind of lapsed a little bit and being able to kind of control some of those lapses just within our focus and being a little bit more disciplined across the board,” Morton said. “Looking to put together a full game is definitely a goal of ours.”
BU struggles to keep possession despite Barry’s heroics in draw controls
Junior midfielder Jennifer Barry doesn’t just lead the Patriot League in draw controls per game, she ranks fourth in the nation, averaging 9.77 per game.
Nonetheless, the team has had some trouble maintaining control of the ball and taking advantage of possessions. The Terriers have committed a total of 252 turnovers during the season while its opponents have committed 181.
“Jen, especially in the draw circle, has done as much as she can to try to help us,” Morton said. “With the amount of turnovers, I don’t think we really realized how much it makes a difference to have the ball as frequently as we did, especially early on in the season.”
Former Patriot League Rookie of the Week leads Terriers in scoring
Freshman attack Matty Spaeth has scored 24 goals so far this season, has started 12 of 13 games during the season and has played in all games. Spaeth leads the Terriers’ attack, and has scored in all but two of BU’s contests.
“[Spaeth is] definitely learning and I think we’ve asked a lot of her as a freshman,” Morton said. “I’ve been really, really impressed and happy with, especially as a freshman, her development this year.”
Underclassmen players bring consistency to play
Due to pandemic-related cancellations the past two seasons, the team has played just 16 games across the last two seasons. As a result, the majority of the team has not played a full season. However, the team’s underclassmen have made a big impact despite their lack of collegiate experience.
One underclassman, sophomore attack Tobey Tick, has a total of 11 goals this season and scored a season-tying two goals against Merrimack.
Tick’s recent performance has stood out to Morton.
“She had a great game against Merrimack but I think she started to find her groove and do a lot of the little things really well,” Morton said.
Morton also mentioned sophomore midfielder Kendall Sims, sophomore defender Ellen Monahan and sophomore midfielder Quinn Ferry as three other younger players who have recently played well.
