Women’s soccer comes back to tie 2-2 against American University, upholds unbeaten Patriot League record

The Boston University women’s soccer team tied the American University Eagles on the road in their penultimate regular season game with a 2-2 final score on Saturday.

This tie maintained the Terriers’ (4-7-6, 4-0-4 Patriot League) undefeated record in the Patriot League.

“It obviously feels really good to keep an undefeated record and to battle back the way we did today,” assistant coach Megan Burke said postgame. “It just shows a lot about our character, too, and so to get a point from this match, especially on the road, we’re obviously wanting more but happy with the result.”

Despite outshooting the Eagles (6-5-3, 2-4-2 PL), BU had a slow first half. In the first 45 minutes, the Terriers had five shots compared to the Eagles’ three.

Eagles sophomore defender Bella Vozar snuck in a last-minute goal in the first half, allowing the Eagles to enter the second half 1-0.

The Terriers were close to scoring early in the second half, but Eagles senior goalkeeper Julia Kato had an incredible save in the 57th minute after back-to-back shots by Terriers senior defender Hugrún Helgadóttir and sophomore forward Samantha Aronson.

Then the Eagles scored again with freshman forward Nariah Goldman’s first-ever collegiate goal, which left the Terriers trailing 2-0 with 18 minutes remaining in the match.

In a thrilling turn of events, junior midfielder Giulianna Gianino clinched a goal for the Terriers, assisted by junior defender Helene Tyburczy, 76 minutes into the game. This closed the gap between the two teams and ended the Eagles’ shutout record, held since defeating the United States Naval Academy Oct. 16. 

This goal also marked Gianino’s eighth of the season, making her the Terriers’ top scorer this season.

“The key word, it was mentality, and we talked a lot about that at halftime,” Burke said. “We just talked about coming back and fighting … We’ve been in situations like that before, and so it was just coming out with the confidence that we could come back and we could do it together.”

Gianino’s goal caused a shift in the game, giving the Terriers a greater intensity and a chance to defend their undefeated record, 4-0-4.

With just eight minutes remaining, BU tied the match 2-2 when sophomore forward Kat Slott scored with an assist from junior midfielder Mackenzie Stickelman. 

The Terriers dominated on offense despite the tied score, with 17 total shots and eight on goal, compared to the Eagles’ seven and four shots on goal. Eagles goalkeeper Kato, however, was a challenge for the Terriers with her three saves on Saturday.

The Terriers completely shifted their offense in the second half with six shots on goal, compared to two in the first half.

“We’ll do much of the same as what we’re doing now and just continue to focus and get all of our attention towards Army [West Point],” Burke said. “It’s obviously a huge game to wrap up the regular season, and I think the team is really excited about it.”

The Terriers will face Army at Nickerson Field this Wednesday, Oct. 30, in their final regular season game before the Patriot League Tournament.