By Shubhankar Arun and Nick Telesmanic
The reigning Patriot League champion Boston University women’s soccer team is hoping to secure its first win of the season against current Ivy League winner Princeton University (1-1) in their game Thursday night.
The Terriers (0-3-1) had a sluggish start to the season, with three consecutive losses following their season opener draw against the University of Denver (3-0-1). Last season, the team lost their opening five games as well.
Coach Nancy Feldman is hoping the team turns a corner on Thursday and gets their season up and running.
“We are playing some pretty good soccer,” Feldman said, “and I try and judge ourselves against ourselves a little bit. We are certainly motivated to get victories and score goals. We’re trying to control what we can control, competing and getting better everyday and putting ourselves into positions to win games like we did the other night against Michigan State.”
Goals have been hard to come by this season for the Terriers. Sophomore attacker Taylor Kofton scored BU’s only goal of the season in their game against Michigan State (4-0-0). But with junior forward Anna Heilferty, the 2019 preseason pick for Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year in their ranks, it is likely more goals will start coming in soon.
It is the goal flow at the other end of the pitch that remains a cause for concern. The loss of the defensive duo of Chelsea Churchill and Libby Closson has left a gaping hole in the backline. The seven goals conceded in four games make for a bleak reading when compared to last season when the team conceded only 19 goals the entire year.
BU’s number of shots conceded per game is alarmingly 15, with a shots on goal percentage of 0.45. Junior defender McKenna Kennedy is the only upperclassmen defender on the team, and her experience will be crucial to the Terrier’s campaign this season.
“McKenna is someone who has had a lot of experience,” Feldman said. “She was a core contributor last year and even in her freshman year. She had played some important minutes for us. She is definitely a leader and someone the team looks to as a voice of calm.”
Last year Princeton tied for first place with the University of Pennsylvania in the Ivy League, each having a 5-1-1 record in conference play. The Tigers also qualified for the NCAA tournament,where they were shut out by Texas Tech 0-3 in the first round.
Princeton is a team that is expected to be very stingy when it comes to allowing goals. Last year they were second in the Ivy League in goals allowed with an average of .71 per game. The Terriers have seen this stinginess first-hand in a matchup last season where they lost 1-0 to the Tigers
Feldman said BU has a solid core of goalkeepers and has been playing very well despite the rough start to the season.
“We’re getting great goalkeeper play,” Feldman said. “That’s certainly not been an issue.”
The Terriers-Tigers matchup will take place Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium in Princeton, New Jersey.
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