On a rainy night under the lights of Nickerson Field, the No. 12 Boston University lacrosse team faced off against No. 16 Dartmouth College. It was the Terriers’ first home match-up against a ranked team since March 7, when the team was in the midst of three straight losses against the country’s elite.
True, the Big Green had stumbled recently, losing two of their last three games. But with a potent scoring attack that put up 92 goals in their seven victories ‘- including 17 goals against Fairfield University and 16 goals at the University of Vermont ‘- the Terriers had a true test and a legitimate threat to their nine-game winning streak ahead of them.
However, behind another strong performance from redshirt junior Rachel Klein and the defensive unit, BU drew on past experience, weathering the storm and the elements to diffuse sophomore attacker Kat Collins and the Big Green offense.
‘I felt we were up to the challenge,’ Klein said. ‘We learned from our mistakes against ranked teams earlier in the schedule, and we were ready. Our tough schedule helped us prepare for today.’
It is said a good offense is the best defense. According to that logic, the Terriers could not have asked for a better defense, with career days from senior captain Sarah Dalton, who tallied seven goals and tied her own BU single-season record with 71, and junior Erica Baumgartner, who earned her first career hat trick along with five assists.
‘As a defense, we try to keep the [opponent’s] score below 10,’ Klein said. ‘The offense did an incredible job holding possession and with their stickwork.’
While the opposing goaltender, junior Julie Wadland, recorded just three saves on 18 shots on goal, Klein stopped seven of the 15 shots directed her way. The game appeared out of hand after a 9-2 Terrier lead at the half.
Yet Dartmouth persevered with its attack, scoring three goals in the first six minutes of the second half and adding another pair of goals two minutes apart later in the half. But BU matched the visitors goal-for-goal in the second stanza and the Big Green never got within five goals
‘We knew we had to be highly aggressive one-on-one with some double teams as well,’ BU coach Liz Robertshaw said. ‘We needed draw controls and to keep attacking off the end to limit the defensive end. We wanted to respond to their runs, and I think we did that well.’
‘We tried to take each play at a time, winning draws and being patient,’ Klein said. ‘We stayed calm. The senior leadership from [senior captains] Dalton and [Kelly] Munroe helped us to stay collected.’
Keys to the defensive effort were persistent one-on-one defense and limiting Dartmouth’s scorers, no easy task against attackers who were nearly six feet tall.
‘They tower over our defenders and like to attack the cage,’ Robertshaw said. ‘[Sophomore Corcoran Downey] did a spectacular job on Collins. [Collins is] 5’11’, and Corcoran marked her down and kept her to one goal. Munroe was also great, very vocal and leading the team.’
There was one scary moment, when Klein took a ball off her kneecap with about six minutes remaining in the contest. She had a visible limp and play was stopped. Thankfully for the Terriers, she recovered and finished the game.
And so, on this particular dark, wet night, in a contest between two ranked teams, it was stability in the defensive end that aided the Terriers to victory ‘- no matter the elements.
‘ ‘The ball does pick up some water [on shots],’ Klein said. ‘But weather is just an excuse. We’ve got to play through it, and Liz prepares us to play no matter what.’
