With Saturday’s commanding 19-5 victory over Binghamton University, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team showcased its offensive depth with 10 different players registering points. But the secret to the Terriers’ success this season lies in its four junior attackers.
Juniors McKinley Curro, Traci Landy, Xan Weitzel and Erica Baumgartner are ranked second through fifth on the team in points, respectively, behind the team’s leading scorer, senior Sarah Dalton. The four juniors have combined for 167 of the Terriers’ 298 points.
Landy and Baumgartner showed their chemistry up front with Baumgartner assisting on one of Landy’s six goals, and then setting Landy up to draw a free-position shot, which Landy converted.
With Saturday’s tally, Baumgartner has assists on five of Landy’s 41 goals. Baumgartner attributes the duo’s success to their playing together for three years.
‘I find Traci a lot naturally,’ Baumgartner said. ‘My role is really to distribute the ball to other people up top so they can score. Traci makes those hard cuts, and I see her. I’ve been seeing her for the past three years, and she was making some great cuts [on Saturday].’
Baumgartner also claims the pair’s chemistry developed because of her and Landy’s friendship off the field. The two were roommates their freshman year, and have been inseparable ever since.
‘We’ve been playing together for the past three years and that’s a huge advantage,’ Baumgartner said. ‘We know what each other likes to do. When things aren’t going right, we’re such good friends off the field that we can pick each other up easily, too.’
Landy and Baumgartner aren’t just crazy about each other ‘-‘- they’re crazy about the game of lacrosse, too. Their ability to find each other on the field comes from a lot of work they do off the field in between games.
‘We’re a big team with putting extra hours in and not necessarily just coming and playing together in practice,’ Landy said. ‘We get out together and shoot two or three times a week with the rest of the team. That’s definitely how our chemistry forms.’
BU coach Liz Robertshaw agrees with Landy and Baumgartner that the duo’s success comes from their strong bond on and off the field, which started the moment they stepped onto campus in the fall of 2006.
‘They’ve stuck together from freshman year, first week on campus, until now,’ Robertshaw said. ‘I’m a firm believer that the chemistry the girls have off the field translates onto the field. They also work very hard at what they do. They’re in here watching film and they’re doing individual sessions with us all the time because they want to be the best players they can be for the team.’
‘We’re soul mates, really,’ Landy said, laughing.
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