East coast escapade

On a pivotal road swing up and down the East Coast, the Boston University field hockey team rallied to defeat America East rival the University of New Hampshire, 3-2, but fell short against No. 9 Duke University.
Undefeated against conference opponents since 2006, the Terriers (5-7, 1-0 America East) began the trip seeking their fifth consecutive America East opener victory, as well as their second straight win after shocking the No. 8 University of Virginia Cavaliers last week.
The host Wildcats (5-7, 0-1 AE) had other ideas, striking quickly on goals by junior Meg Shea and freshman Whitney Frates. Senior Brittany Jacobs assisted on both tallies to put the guests in a two-goal hole.
‘We didn’t play particularly well in the first half,’ BU coach Sally Starr said. ‘I’m not happy at all that we were down 2-0 early in the game.’
Roughly two minutes later, however, freshman Giovanna Monaco came off the bench and hit the back of the cage to put the Terriers on the board for a 2-1 score at the half.
A pair of Terrier veterans knotted the score as senior Sheena Berry’s second assist led to senior Holly Wiles’ first goal of the season. Finally, in the 61st minute, Monaco redirected a rebound for her second tally of the match to win in dramatic fashion, 3-2.
The Terriers outshot the Wildcats 12-5 and held a 5-1 corner advantage, with America East Co-Player of the Week, sophomore goalkeeper Kim Kastuk, saving two for the Terriers. While freshman Jenna Lehman made five stops for the Wildcats, she couldn’t prevent three unanswered goals and her team’s seventh straight loss against the Terriers.
‘It was a huge conference win for us, and the comeback was an outstanding achievement for the team,’ Starr said. ‘We had a lot of adversity that day with the bus not coming and having to take vans last minute, so I’m really proud that we were able to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a very hard-fought game. We really had to play hard and play well to get that victory.’
A day of travel and rest brought the Terriers from Durham, N.H., to Durham, N.C., home of the No. 9 Blue Devils (8-3, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). The trekking Terriers attempted to trip up another top-10 team for their second upset in two weeks.
The home team scored first, as senior Laura Suchoski sent a pass to the middle of the circle, where junior Amie Survilla hit the bottom-left corner in the eighth minute. Suchoski found Survilla again five minutes into the second half and the Blue Devils never looked back.
‘Duke is an outstanding hockey team,’ Starr said. ‘We knew that they were going to be a formidable opponent. Overall, I was not pleased with the quality of play.’
Not only did Duke outshoot the Terriers, 19-5, but the home team made it easy for sophomore goalkeeper Samantha Nelson, holding the Terriers to two shots on goal, resulting in her third shutout of the season.
Nonetheless, there were some bright moments for the Terriers. Although the Blue Devils held a staggering 8-0 advantage in penalty corners, none of them led to a score.
‘Corner defense was really, really effective in not giving up any goals,’ Starr said.
Kastuk made eight saves for BU and gave the team a fighting chance against a difficult foe. Even in loses, Kastuk ‘-‘-‘ last year’s America East Rookie of the Year ‘-‘-‘ has been a spot of encouragement for the Terriers.
‘Kim Kastuk kept the game close and had an outstanding game for us to keep us in the ballpark,’ Starr said. ‘Probably just Kim was a highlight.’