The Boston University field hockey team will host another Boston rival at Jack Barry Field today when it battles Harvard University at 3 p.m. The game is the Terriers’ penultimate regular season game.
The Crimson enter the game just 2-12 on the season, with no wins in its five away games. BU currently stands at 10-6, with a 7-1 record at home and has recorded wins in the last two games. Harvard has lost two in a row after winning its first two games of the season earlier this month, with victories over Cornell University and Yale University, both in overtime.
Despite the Crimson’s poor record, the Terriers still won’t take the game lightly, according to coach Sally Starr.
“If we play one dimensional, we could be in trouble,” Starr said. “They have been successful getting the counterattack goal this season. We have to be careful not to be lulled by having too much possession.”
Starr is particularly worried because of the style of play Harvard implements.
“They will play very defensively,” she said. “They’ll pack the attacking section. It will be very difficult to score on them. They have a good goalkeeper and a solid zone defense. We have to attack the game with intelligence.”
Harvard’s defensive mindedness has allowed it to keep virtually all of its games close. Although the Crimson carry 12 losses, they have given up more than two goals just five times this season. In comparison, BU has done it four times.
But Starr is not worried about her team not finding the back of the net, although it has struggled at times this year. She believes the Terriers will be able to find the cage if they engage in smart passing.
“We need to make an extra pass in the attacking zone,” Starr said. “Instead of going through the front door, we need to go through the back door. Or at least the side door.”
Harvard has also played well against some stout competition this season. They lost to the University of Connecticut, 1-0, (BU suffered a 6-0 defeat at the hands of the Huskies last Wednesday) and lost just 2-1 to Providence College (the Terriers also fell to the Friars by one goal earlier in the season).
And, not to mention, the Crimson gave the Terriers everything they could handle last year before finally succumbing, 2-1, in double overtime. In that game, the Terriers had to come from behind to even force the extra frame before winning the game on a Pam Spuehler goal.
Starr would love to be able to give some of her players some rest in this game, especially with a huge conference match-up looming on Saturday and the America East tournament not far away, but she knows that will be tough against a team that doesn’t give up many goals.
“If we can do that it will be great,” she said. “But Harvard has been stingy.”
But that’s not to say the Terriers are looking past the Crimson, even with the University of Maine awaiting them Saturday.
“We’re really trying to establish a consistent level of play,” Starr said. “We have to come out and play for 70 hard minutes, really be consistent in that. Consistency is critical for the success of the team.”
If the Terriers want to do well in the upcoming tournament, consistency will be the key. This is a team that has scored nine, seven and six goals respectively in three of its last six games, but just two, one and zero in the other three. With a win against Harvard, BU can start to build some of that consistency it needs.