The No. 17 Boston University field hockey team had a busy Columbus Day weekend, playing in the inaugural game of the Turnpike Trophy competition against the College of the Holy Cross on Friday night and facing No. 4 Duke University at New Balance Field on Sunday.
The Terriers (9-4, 4-0 Patriot League) started the weekend off well, topping Holy Cross (6-7, 1-2 Patriot League) by a score of 6-1 thanks to the heroics of freshman forward Ally Hammel, who scored three goals in the first half of the game and was awarded the first ever Turnpike Trophy MVP award.
Just over 15 minutes into the first half, Hammel tallied her first goal on a rebound shot near the left post. The ball cruised straight past Holy Cross goalkeeper Megan Inch and into the net.
Hammel would get her second tally of the night just five minutes later off a penalty corner opportunity and pass from senior fullback Rachel Coll, giving the Terriers a 2-0 lead. BU would gain a 3-0 lead in the 23rd minute when sophomore midfielder/forward Grace Boston beat the Crusader defense and batted the ball straight into the goal.
With 11.9 seconds left in the first half, junior forward Taylor Blood’s shot was initially stopped by Inch, but the rebound was left for Hammel to pick up and tally her first collegiate hat trick, giving the Terriers a 4-0 lead going into the second half.
The Crusaders would end junior goalkeeper Cammy Jensen’s shutout bid early in the second half with freshman Lauren Ineson striking home one for her team on a turnover in BU’s defensive zone. This would be the lone goal for Holy Cross.
Junior forward Amanda Cassera continued the Terrier onslaught midway into the half, deflecting junior fullback Bea Baumberger Altirriba’s shot from the edge of the circle and into the net.
Finally, Boston would grab the final goal just before the buzzer sounded with her second of the night on another assist from Altirriba.
“We played really well at Holy Cross,” said BU coach Sally Starr. “We had a really strong performance out there with a lot of goal scoring. We played a really sound hockey game, moved the ball well and passed well.”
Sunday’s story would be slightly different for the Terriers’ offensive powerhouse. Against Duke (10-3), BU played a highly aggressive and low scoring game with a heartbreaking ending.
In the first half, the Terriers had several scoring opportunities and held possession of the ball for much of the time. By the end of the first half, BU had four shots on net compared to just two for the Blue Devils. Duke goalkeeper Lauren Blazing stopped all attempts including one by Blood with a rebound chance.
The second half featured more of the same type of defensive play from the Terriers. Jensen made big saves on three Duke penalty corner opportunities in the second half and Altirriba made a key defensive stop as well.
“Jensen played really well today,” Starr said. “She made some great saves.”
The result of the game was not decided until overtime, when Blue Devil forward Heather Morris beat Jensen, giving Duke a 1-0 win. The Terriers were held scoreless for the first time this season.
“I just thought we played well,” Starr said. “We played against one of the top teams in the country and we let it get away at the end there. We played 83 minutes and we had opportunities to score ourselves. We made their goalie make some really good saves. We as a team feel like we let this one get away from us.”
Ranya currently covers field hockey and women’s hockey for the Daily Free Press. As a Biology major at BU, she spends much of her time buried in her Chemistry textbook with the occasional trip to the piano practice room to rehearse her favorite piece, Debussy’s "Claire de Lune." She is an avid ice hockey fan and a proud supporter of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
