The Boston University women’s lacrosse team dominated Harvard University in a 13-2 non-conference win at a cold and drizzly Nickerson field on Wednesday.
The women improved to 4-4 overall with their second straight win. This is the first win BU has tallied over Harvard (1-6) in two years.
A strong start was key to the victory for the women. They won the first three draws of the game and converted three goals in the first four minutes.
‘A lot of this game we knew was going to be about being on fire when we got out here,’ said BU head coach Liza Shoemaker. ‘Whoever comes out with the most heart is the team that is going to come out on top.’ BU definitely came out with more heart early.
It took five minutes for Harvard to establish any sort of possession in the BU end, and the BU defense kept them from generating too many legitimate scoring opportunities.
BU’s offense was another story, as even a constant Crimson double team couldn’t stop BU from putting points on the board.
‘The attackers did a real good job out there today,’ Shoemaker said. ‘I know Harvard put a good double team on them every time that we were in front of the net.’
BU got goals from seven different scorers on the day, including junior midfielder Kylie Wagenet, who led the offensive charge with three goals.
‘We needed different people to step up,’ Shoemaker said. ‘She’s been working on her shooting and it really showed. She stepped up when some other people were getting double-teamed.’
BU had a 6-0 lead by halftime with goals from six different scorers. Wagenet put BU on the board 30 seconds into the game. Freshman attacker Danica Strutt, and junior attacker Caroline Kelleher both scored within the next two minutes, while freshmen attackers Lindsay Lewis and Mary Beth Miller and freshman midfielder Keely Anderson finished up the first half offensive output for BU.
In addition to all the goals, BU more than tripled Harvard’s shot output in the first half. Draws played a big role in that as BU controlled five out seven first half opportunities.
Harvard seemed to be making a game out of it early in the second half, as they scored 30 seconds into the half and then managed a few minutes of sustained possession in the BU end.
BU, however, got two goals from sophomore midfielder Alyssa Trudel to establish an 8-1 lead and pull away. Harvard never managed another sustained attack, and the BU offense kept coming.
Strutt, Anderson and Miller all netted their second goals of the game to give BU an 11-1 lead with just over five minutes left in the game. Wagenet finished off the BU scoring with her second and third goals of the game.
Sophomore goaltender Anne Sheridan was strong in net for BU making six saves and allowing just one goal in a little over 51 minutes of action.
Coming off a solid victory over a ranked opponent, No. 13 Old Dominion University on Saturday, BU kept their momentum going and outplayed Harvard in every aspect of the game. They finished the day with a 39-13 advantage in shots and a 29-14 advantage in ground balls. The controlled 11-17 draws on the game, and forced Harvard into 15 turnovers.
After traveling for the last month, BU was glad to have a home game. The team is starting to play consistently and can go above the .500 mark with games against Dartmouth College and Binghamton University this weekend. Shoemaker has been encouraged by the BU performance lately, and believes the two victories are well within the teams reach.
‘They’re starting to appreciate how good they really are,’ she said.