With less than 60 seconds remaining in the game, the Terriers found themselves up 2-1 against an aggressive Lafayette team, who had eight shots in the fourth quarter alone.
In a catastrophic turn of events, Boston University (8-10, 3-3 Patriot League) seemingly took their foot off the gas and the Leopards (12-6, 5-1 PL) capitalized, sending the PL Semifinal matchup to overtime.
With three penalty corners — and a shot to show for each — in the first four minutes of the overtime period, Lafayette punched their ticket to a chance at the PL Championship game with the game-winning goal in the fifth minute of the extra time. Freshman back Lena Thedrian’s first career goal found the back of the cage with a definitive shot to end the Terriers’ season.
“[Lafayette] pulled the goalie at the end, and they made a great play. We had a player that was carded at the very end, where they got those corners,” head coach Sally Starr said.
Senior goalkeeper Kate Thomason had eight saves against the Leopards, who had 20 shots and 10 penalty corners in the game. The Terriers only had four shots of their own but with 75% on goal in opposition to the Leopards’ 60% on goal.
“[Offense is] where I felt that we played some of our best hockey of the year,” Starr said. “They were two great transitional goals off of steals. [We were] really attacking hard … and just transitionally creating offensive opportunities.”
Senior midfielder Thalia Steenssens opened up the scoring for the match in the fourth minute with a chip shot made in transition as she crossed the circle.
After the first goal, both offenses had opportunities to get shots off but were not able to get through for the remainder of the first half, and the Terriers headed into the half with a 1-0 lead. Just two minutes into the second half, the Leopards found the back of the goal off a penalty corner, and, less than 10 minutes later, the Terriers retook the lead.
The 2-1 lead held until the final minute of regulation.
Despite the disappointing end to the game — and the season — Starr “could not be more proud.”
“I actually feel in many ways, we played one of our best games of the season, one of the best complete games of the season offensively, defensively,” she said.
The team will graduate three players — senior back Brooklyn Lamb, senior midfielder and back Pili Alvarez and fifth-year midfielder and back Rachel Borzymowski — so they will retain the majority of the team, Starr said.
“Team culture is just so great, and the love that they have for each other,” she said. “The emotion that was shown at the end of that game really shows how much this team loves each other.”
This season wraps up Starr’s historical 43rd season, but the next step for now is to “just take some time off.”
“This season definitely had its ups and downs. Some really good wins, some tough losses,” she said. “Proud that we were able to qualify for the Patriot League tournament, something that we should do every year, but it was a fight for us this year to be able to achieve that.”
