The No. 20 Boston University field hockey team struck first, fell behind and rallied, but No. 14 Stanford University stole its ticket in the NCAA Tournament Play-In game at Jack Barry Field Tuesday afternoon.
‘To me, this game was the microcosm of our season,’ BU coach Sally Starr said. ‘We struggled to get in sync early, but when it mattered most, we found a way to come back and tie it.’
The Terriers (10-12) got on the board early, as they did in both of their conference tournament games. Just eight minutes in, freshman Nicole van Oosterom took a pass from junior Allie Dolce and used a reverse-stick drive to score from five yards out. It was van Oosterom’s 10th goal and Dolce’s 11th assist on the year, both team highs, respectively.
But after the strong start, the Cardinal (17-4) answered in the second half, doubling BU in shots, 8-4. Leading-scorer senior Xanthe Travlos found the net on one of those shots halfway through the second stanza as the Terriers struggled to respond.
‘We were being reactive, not proactive,’ Starr said. ‘I felt like we were in a fog. We needed to pass more. In Albany, we were moving that ball, shredding the field. Today we struggled like earlier in the season.’
Corners played a prominent role to the teams’ fortunes late in the contest. The Cardinal held a commanding 8-1 advantage going into the final minute of the match, as junior Camille Gahndi notched the go-ahead tally following a corner in the 55th minute.
‘We didn’t get a lot of [corners] ‘-‘- I would’ve liked to see more,’ Starr said. ‘APCs [attacking penalty corners] are important, but so is our ability to defend. We knew they had a strong attack –‘-‘- they’re the fourth highest scoring team in the country.’
But the Terriers refused to give up and earned their first corner of the half with less than a minute remaining. The home crowd was on its feet as the players scrambled into position against the ticking clock. Finally, senior captain Haley Robinson and Dolce both touched the ball before feeding it to Rookie of the Year Jacinda McLeod, who knocked in the equalizer from the top of the circle with 21 seconds left in regulation.
Behind a fired up crowd and bench, the Terriers carried the momentum into the extra session ‘-‘- their first since Sept. 27. BU dominated the 6-on-6 play, registering five shots and two corners, and had several chances to put the game away. Three minutes in, a streaking van Oosterom drew out sophomore goalkeeper Alessandra Moss and left a pass for Dolce, who was defended in front of an empty net and couldn’t get off a shot.
Two minutes later, BU appeared to score the game-winning goal as players began to celebrate. But just before the ball crossed the line, the referee blew the whistle for a corner, taking the goal and the energy away from the home team.
‘I’m adamant we won in overtime,’ Starr said. ‘The official should have held the whistle until the ball went in the net. It breaks my heart. In my mind, we won this game.’
On that very corner, a rocket from Dolce hit off the post and Stanford took the ball all the way back. Spent at the other end, the defense allowed a pass from Travlos to reach sophomore Stephanie Byrne, whose shot above the right post into the net sank BU’s postseason hopes.
The defeat snapped several streaks for the Terriers. BU had won three straight games during its romp through America East, as well as three consecutive wins against Stanford all-time. It also marked the program’s first loss in an NCAA Play-In game. Yet the result continued an unfortunate streak of back-to-back years falling short of the NCAA Tournament.
Along with ending the season, the loss wrapped up the careers of senior captains Nikki Lloyd and Student-Athlete of the Week Robinson, who made her 67th consecutive start. Neither player was able to play deep into the postseason, and despite earning the America East title, this defeat is an especially painful end to their time at BU.
‘I’m sad for the seniors, Robbie and Nikki, but I’m happy they leave with a conference championship,’ Starr said. ‘I told [the team after the game] how proud I am of them and their resilience. We got robbed today. We absolutely got unlucky. It’s gut-wrenching walking off the field without the win. It was a frustrating game.’
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