The Boston University field hockey team extended its win streak to four games after defeating Columbia University on Sunday afternoon with two goals in the final 10 minutes of the game.
The Terriers (7-5, 2-1 Patriot League) faced an early setback after one of their key starters, sophomore forward and midfielder Martu Coulo, exited the game with an injury in the first quarter. BU rallied together and stunned the Lions (3-9) despite her absence.
“[Cuolo] is an outstanding, dangerous player,” head coach Sally Starr said. “We didn’t have her today, yet the team was able to persist and just grind out a really good win.”
Before the comeback could start, however, BU had to first fall behind. That did not happen until the second quarter, but it eventually came at the hands of freshman forward Mckenzie Bloom, who gave the Lions the lead.
“Despite their record, all of [Columbia’s] games have been very close,” Starr said. “They’ve beaten some teams that we’ve lost to, so we knew it was going to be a very competitive match for us.”
Senior midfielder and back Rachel Borzymowski made a pair of critical defensive saves for the Terriers in the third quarter, preventing the Lions from extending their lead. BU headed into the final frame with the game in reach, but needed something special to grasp it.
As the end of the fourth quarter approached without the Terriers able to score a goal, the crowd was on their toes, watching the game closely for any sudden action. The tension in the air was palpable as fans hoped for a game-changing moment.
That moment finally came with fewer than 10 minutes remaining. Senior midfielder Thalia Steenssens played the ball in on a penalty corner, and sophomore midfielder and back Megan Wetzel laid it off for the junior back Payton Anderson. Anderson took a single touch before firing a shot that found its way to the bottom left corner of Columbia’s goal.
“All of our results came from great team efforts,” Anderson said. “Everyone was passing to each other, and when we did that, we got the results that we needed.”
The Lions’ defense made it challenging for the Terriers to try and score a winner, but with less than five minutes to go, Steenssens found her way to Columbia’s goal and weaved around two defenders before sending the ball towards the far post. It was met by freshman forward Nicole Lauro, who tipped in the winning score.
“It was a tough win today, and almost an ugly win, but it was a win,” Anderson said. “We were gritty out there, we [kept] working hard, and we grinded until we got the result that we needed.”
As the team approaches the back end of its schedule, three remaining in-conference games will determine their postseason hopes. Their next game happens to be one of those three: a match at home against Lafayette College next Saturday at 12 p.m.
What a game! By reading the details of this article, I felt like I was there watching the game! Go BU!