The Boston University field hockey team has had a successful start to the season after claiming wins over both Ball State and Miami University as a part of a second consecutive weekend sweep to open up the 2017 campaign.
The Terriers return to the field again Saturday for a battle at 21st ranked Albany and then on Sunday for a tilt at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The Terriers (4-0) are proud of their success last weekend with a 2-1 win over of Ball State and a 3-1 win over the Miami RedHawks but have been resting and preparing for an important weekend ahead.
The scoring this season has been done predominantly by the freshmen. It took until the 17th minute of the game against Ball State for junior forward Kara Enoch to score the first goal by a non-freshman.
“We came off a real success last weekend and I think first and foremost was recovery,” said BU field hockey coach Sally Starr. “We had two really challenging games particularly Monday’s game in the heat against a really fast paced team, so the biggest thing was for us to have some good recovery from that. [Wednesday’s] practice was a good practice, not great, but I was really happy with the focus and the intensity in today’s practice and the work rate. I think we were doing some really good stuff in today’s practice to get ready for [Friday].”
Starr noted that a major challenge the team will face this weekend is not playing at their home field.
She also discussed the first matchup explaining how although the current roster has never faced Albany (1-2). The coaches are trying to prepare them, as the Terriers previously faced Albany often when they were in the same conference.
“So the players on the team have never played them before but the coaches have a pretty good idea of what to expect,” she said. “We are trying to communicate that to our athletes because they are well coached, they’re athletic, they’re skilled, so it’s going to be a great hockey match.”
The Terriers should look out for Katie MacCallum in their game against the Great Danes as the freshman has collected two goals and one assist so far this year.
Starr also alluded to how their game against the University of Massachusetts (2-2) will be a good indication of their team progress.
“We haven’t played UMass that often and again it’s just another good team, they are both two good hockey teams this weekend and two good tests for us to see where our development is and how well we are playing,” Starr said. “We will have to play really well and be at the top of our game in order to be successful in both games.”
Terriers will look to stop freshman Lucy Cooper, who leads the Minutemen in points with 11 including four goals and three assists.
Starr said she believes her team is working well right now especially due to the overall team dynamic.
“Our team chemistry is outstanding, I think the team really fights hard for each other and really enjoys being together and plays well together.” Starr said, “I think another strength is our depth, we are playing 20-21 players right now which help us to continue to play at a really fast pace and gives us a different look with different players on the field constantly.”
