It may have a boatload of youthful inexperience, but the Boston University lacrosse team is having no trouble winning games. The No. 14 Terriers overcame a slow start to overtake Brown University, 16-4, yesterday at Berylson Family Fields in Providence, R.I.
In its final tuneup before heading west for a challenging Spring Break road trip, BU (2-0) used five goals from senior co-captain Lauren Morton and tight defensive pressure to rattle off 13 straight goals and bury the Brown Bears (1-3). The win was another step in the right direction for a young Terrier squad searching for team chemistry.
“The chemistry is getting better. I think there’s more trust between the upperclassmen down to the freshmen,” said BU coach Liz Robertshaw.
The Terriers stumbled out of the gate yesterday, struggling to connect and assemble a concerted offensive rush. The game had a steady, back-and-forth pace early, as both teams searched for the first goal of the game.
“It was a tight game at first,” Robertshaw said. “It was very windy, very chilly. I think we were frantic.”
Morton got BU on the board, scoring on a feed from sophomore Traci Landy at 3:48. Landy had a free-position shot to the right of the center hash, but rather than shooting on net she sent the ball to Morton, who flipped a shot into the top left corner of the goal.
Brown countered with goals from freshman Alexa Caldwell and sophomore Kara Kelly, with the latter scoring on a free-position shot to put the Bears up, 2-1. Senior co-captain Molly Collins, who posted four goals in BU’s first outing against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, tied the score at two minutes later.
The Bears regained the lead, 3-2, on a score from senior Ali Holland, but it would be Brown’s last goal before a scoring drought of more than 30 minutes. Collins once again knotted the game to begin a stretch of 13 straight Terrier scores.
“I thought Morton did a nice job of settling us down attack-wise and getting some good shots,” Robertshaw said. “The two of them [Collins and Morton] did a nice job of getting some good goals early.”
BU went on an 8-0 run to finish the half up 10-3, a stretch that included four goals in the final 2:11 of the first. The Terriers kept on rolling into the second half, adding a pair of goals in the first 2:21 to put the game away.
Morton led BU with five goals, while Collins and Landy added three tallies apiece. Sophomore Erica Baumgartner registered a pair of unassisted goals, and classmates McKinley Curro and Xan Weitzel and junior Stephanie Walker each chipped in a goal to round out the scoring.
The 13-goal stretch showed the dominance that the Terriers can exert at both ends of the field, and the offense shined without junior midfielder Sarah Dalton (ankle) for the second straight game.
“We started to win the little hustle plays and come up with a lot of groundballs in the midfield and cause some turnovers,” Robertshaw said. “Every time we won a draw we had a great opportunity to go down, set up an attacking play and score. We really took possession of the game away from Brown.”
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Klein (10 saves) played another strong game in net, stifling the Bears’ attack.
“They had some opportunities to go to the cage and Rachel came up with some great plays. She was very impressive in terms of leading the defense,” Robertshaw said. “She’s fitting in nicely.”
With two wins on the books, BU now embarks on a tough road trip. The Terriers will take on No. 1 Northwestern University – a team that beat BU 17-4 last March – and No. 10 Vanderbilt University in the next week.
“We needed to have two strong games behind us going into [next] week. I know a lot of people think it’s a lot of fun, but it’s a lot of work for us,” Robertshaw said. “Having these two strong weeks and knowing we can score goals was huge for our attack and our confidence.”