For the most part, season openers are the first chance for teams to find their stride and face competition that wears a different color jersey. What certainly isn’t a secret around Division I women’s lacrosse is the fact that Boston University is a force to be reckoned with. Just how big a force remains to be seen, but the Terriers certainly looked to be in midseason form as they trounced UMass-Amherst, 16-6, Wednesday afternoon at Garber Field.
The No. 9 Terriers (1-0) used a 7-1 run that spanned the halves to eliminate an early 3-1 deficit and outscored the 0-2 Minutewomen, 10-2 in the final frame.
“I think it was a great start to the season,” said BU coach Liza Kelly. “We definitely came out rocky at first but pulled it together. We’ve been trying a couple of things on defense that are different from what we usually do and they worked out for us.”
It may have been those defensive shifts that allowed UMass to score only 31 seconds into the contest and keep the halftime score relatively close, with BU only leading by two. The slim lead provided no reason for the Terriers to panic, however, and BU hit its stride at the end of the first half.
“No, I wasn’t worried,” Kelly said. “It’s our first game so I really wasn’t surprised. I think I kind of expected us to get a slow start. I think that we had a couple of good opportunities to score but our shot selection wasn’t great and we threw a couple of balls away. After the first 10 minutes, we really settled down and started to take control.”
Coming out of the break, BU capitalized on ball possession – something UMass took advantage of in the first half – and scored four times in the first eight minutes.
A large part of the Terriers’ success on the afternoon was the play of Jenny Hauser. In her first game of 2006, the preseason first-team All-American eliminated any notion of a sophomore slump as she scored six goals and recorded three assists for a nine-point afternoon.
Hauser, who already has more awards on her shelf than she knows what to do with – Preseason Inside Lacrosse All-American selection, 2006 Terwaaraton Watch List nominee (given to the best player in Division I lacrosse), 2005 Inside Lacrosse Rookie of the Year, America East Rookie of the Year, All-North Region First Team, America East All-Conference First Team and America East All-Rookie Team, as well as six-time America East Rookie of the Week — scored 54 goals last season and is looking to improve upon that mark this year.
“I thought she played a good game, and I think she did a lot from the scoring end,” Kelly said.
As much as the box score shows it, in no way were the Terriers dominated by Hauser, as numerous others contributed to the winning effort.
“We also had players like Lindsay Lewis who scored five goals and had five caused turnovers, and Danica Strutt,” Kelly said. “We had eight people with a point in the attacking end. That’s really what we look for, and we had a great time of it today.”
Hauser and Lewis combined for 11 goals, while senior Mary Beth Miller and freshman Sarah Dalton registered two apiece and junior Angie Martin added her first score of the year. In addition to a game-high six draw controls, sophomore Lauren Morton recorded two assists.
On the opposite end of the field, sophomore Jenna Golden made eight saves in her first career start in net. Hopefully Golden, who got the nod over senior Colleen McClay and freshman Rachel Klein, will be up to the task of filling the crease of last year’s All-American goalie (and now-assistant coach) Anne Sheridan as the season draws on.
“She did a great job today. We’re definitely very proud of what she was able to do in the goal cage,” Kelly said. “She had some good ground balls and saves, but I think you gotta bring it for each game and we’ll see how it goes from there.”
The Terriers outshot the Minutewomen 32-21 for the game and posted an 18-9 shot advantage in the second half. UMass collected 29 groundballs to the Terriers’ 19, but hurt themselves with fouls, committing 25 to the Terriers’ 22. BU also edged UMass in turnovers, as the Minutewomen turned the ball over 20 times to BU’s 12.
“We started to gain confidence from turnovers that the defense was coming up with, and it gave our offense a better outlet for attacking,” Kelly said. “When the defense is strong and playing like that you can take a lot more risks.”
The leading scorer for UMass was sophomore Kathleen Typadis, who recorded a hat trick and four ground balls. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Lauren McCarthy took the loss for the Minutewomen, allowing 15 goals and recording nine saves.
And Lewis certainly proved to be true on her word, saying before the game that Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week Kaytlin McCormick would not score. The young attacker was virtually a non-factor in the contest and didn’t find the back of the net all day.
“She did a very good job,” Kelly said of Lewis’s defense. “They’re a very strong 1-on-1 team. They get ball at midfield and drive down hard. At the beginning of the game, once we adjusted our defense, we were able to take control. We had a lot of caused turnovers on [McCormick]. We played aggressive but we played a zone ‘D’ for most of the game, so it was really a team effort.”
The laborious days of practice in sub-zero temperatures on Nickerson Field finally paid off when it mattered, as the Terriers played through the chilling winds en route to their first victory.
“It was cold,” Kelly said. “I don’t think it was a factor [while playing], but it was definitely a factor on the sidelines. I would have liked to have gotten a lot more people in, but you don’t want to risk sending them in cold and having them pull a muscle.”
No matter who plays or the temperature on the field, the Terriers certainly know their opponents will be circling BU’s name on their schedules. And if the Terriers can dominate every team who circles their names, they’ll be in true midseason form in no time.
