With a season-high six goals, Boston University’s field hockey team secured a spot in the postseason with a commanding 6-2 win over Colgate University on Friday.
“I’m really proud of the team and really couldn’t be happier for the victory and the significance of just securing a spot in the Patriot League Tournament,” head coach Sally Starr said.
The Terriers (8-8, 3-2 Patriot League) came back from a two-game losing streak despite a slow start.
As the clock ticked down in the final three minutes of the first period, BU battled to keep the ball out of the net. By the end of the 15 minutes, both teams were deadlocked with zero points on the scoreboard.
The Terriers quickly found their stride against the Raiders (3-11, 0-5 PL) at the beginning of the second quarter. Sophomore forward Caroline O’Brien stepped in and swung into the net, scoring the Terriers’ first goal of the night in the 18th minute.
With six minutes left on the clock for the first half, BU freshman forward Nicole Lauro took advantage of a quick restart. She slipped past Colgate sophomore goalkeeper Claire van Kempen and struck gold, adding a second point for the Terriers.
“We take our bumps along the way, and we learn our lessons,” Starr said. “We really work on improving every day, and just keep our eyes focused forward.”
The Raiders fought through BU’s defenses and scored twice in the second and third periods. Shortly before halftime, Colgate sophomore forward and midfielder Anna Lochhead shot past senior goalkeeper Kate Thomason, cutting the Terriers’ lead in half. Colgate’s second goal, also Lochhead’s second, was not surrendered until the 45th minute.
In the second half, BU connected the ball to the net four more times.
While junior forward Payton Anderson gained the Terriers a point in the third quarter, O’Brien and Lauro dominated the scoreboard throughout the game.
Senior midfielder and back Pili Alvarez assisted O’Brien on her last two goals. Just over a minute into the second half of the game, Alvarez weaved through defenders to flick the ball to O’Brien, and van Kempen couldn’t deflect it.
As the leading scorer, O’Brien pulled off her second hat trick, tallying nine goals this season. Lauro scored two points total, but she was an asset in other ways as well.
“Nikki [Lauro] absolutely had her best game,” said Starr. “What I loved about Nikki today is that she was really dangerous on ball going forward, but she picked a lot of pockets, she created a lot of turnovers. She created her own offense quite a few times today, so really good two-way performance.”
While BU outshot Colgate 16-9, Thomason made three saves.
The Terriers faced 17th-ranked Cornell University on Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. — losing 6-0 — before they round out the end of the regular season against conference opponent American University ahead of the Patriot League Tournament, which starts on Nov. 2.
“It’s a really competitive conference, and you’ve got to take care of your conference games to make the tournament,” Starr said. “I’m really pleased that, because [of] the outcome we had today, we secured a spot in the tournament.”
