After getting shut out by the Monarchs of Old Dominion University on Sunday in their only game of the weekend, the No. 11 Boston University field hockey team passed the halfway point of their season. At this point, it is safe to say that their first five games, during which they earned the best start in team history at 5-0, were more successful than their recent contests, in which they have won only one of their last four.
One contributing factor to BU's lessened success in recent weeks is a shortage of goal scoring. After scoring 2.4 goals per game in their first five games, the Terriers have posted a 0.75 average in their last four.
"We have a tendency as a team to throw weak balls looking for the elusive pass or corner inside the circle," BU associate head coach Tracey Paul said. "Teams' biggest strategy at the moment is to pack the circle defensively, which takes away our space and time to make and give good quality shots on goal. When a team packs the defensive 25 with all of their players, you've not a lot of time and space for good shot selection, so you have to manufacture corners, which obviously we're doing, but not being able to put them in."
Because they have been forced into difficult shots, the Terriers have been able to dominate offensively without scoring at the same time.
In its last four games, BU has outshot its opponents 71-30. Amazingly, the Terriers' five-game win streak saw them outshoot their opponents by a smaller margin of 65-34. The records, 5-0 and 1-3, don't match the offensive output.
Another offensive area that BU has dominated without scoring as effectively as it would like is in attack penalty corners. The pattern repeats itself. Once again, through their first five games of the season, the Terriers held a solid 37-24 advantage over their opponents on attack penalty corners. Since then, they have more than tripled the corner output of their opponents in four games, earning an incredible 37-12 advantage. However, the offensive dominance has not translated into goals or wins for the Terriers.
The freshest example of this phenomenon of offensive dominance without the reward occurred during last Sunday's game against the Monarchs. The Terriers earned a season-high 12 corners.
Paul explained the lack of production on at least one corner opportunity.
"On the last corner of the game there was a miscommunication, so that's a great learning opportunity for the team to make sure everybody is on the same page," Paul said. "What some of the team thought was going to be the corner that was going to be executed, others didn't. That happens. It's a learning opportunity."
One of the Terriers' best opportunities against ODU was a defensive steal by senior striker Allie Dolce, who found herself with the ball all alone in front of the opposition's goal. Her shot came within inches of giving the Terriers an early lead, but instead rolled beyond the right post. Dolce's 28 points led the Terriers last year, and after scoring three goals and three assists in four games to open the season, she appeared to have picked up where she left off. However, in the most recent five games, she has tallied just one assist and has not been able to score a goal.
"She's missing the goal by a hairpin," Paul said. "She's playing incredibly well. Her ability to press and put opposing backs under pressure and win the ball is phenomenal. She's an incredibly dangerous striker. But there is a drought in scoring right now, and perhaps that is creating the L's instead of the elusive W's. But that is, to me, an easy problem to solve."
The Terriers' designated shooter on penalty corner opportunities is sophomore striker Nicole van Oosterom. Her 10 goals led the team last year established her as one of BU's top strikers. This year, however, she has had trouble finding the back of the net, scoring one goal so far this season.
"A lot of her shots are manufactured from corners," Paul said. "I think for her it's just a matter of better execution on the penalty corners. Nicole is an incredibly dangerous, skilled goal scorer. Not just a penalty corner goal scorer, either. Given time and space, I think, like everyone on the team right now, it just has to be a better choice of shot selection, given how our opponents are choosing to defend us."
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