The America East conference is not the most powerful conference in college athletics. BU sports teams generally have a narrow window into the promised land of the NCAA tournament. AE teams are rarely selected to receive at-large bids for the tourney, and so they are forced to vie for the AE championship.
Such is the case for the No. 17 Boston University field hockey team. While field hockey is currently AE’s strongest sport nationally &- with all four contenders in the AE tournament ranked in the top 25 in the nation &- BU will need to duke it out with No. 20 University at Albany, No. 21 University of New Hampshire, and No. 22 University of Maine for the AE title and a chance to take on the Northeast Conference’s champion in an NCAA play-in game. In a 16-team NCAA tournament, playing and winning that play-in game is the best shot for any AE team to win one of the coveted spots.
“Regardless of seeding, and regardless of who we have to play in the first round, we knew that the matchups were going to be very competitive,” said BU coach Sally Starr. “And, you have to win two games in this tournament to get to the NCAA play-in game.”
The postseason begins on Friday with the first-seeded Wildcats (13-6, 5-0 AE) taking on the fourth-seeded Black Bears (13-5, 2-3 AE) before the third-seeded Terriers (10-7, 3-2 AE) look for revenge against the second-seeded Great Danes (13-5, 4-1 AE) in the second matchup of the day. The Terriers lost to Albany on penalty shots after dominating overtime play but failing to score when the teams met in the regular season.
“Albany is really an excellent team, a well-coached team,” Starr said. “We know that they play very aggressive, very physical, so we need to really challenge each other in practice this week to play at a high work rate, lay into each other a little bit more than we might necessarily, play at a high tempo and get ready for a great game on Saturday.”
With senior goalie Amanda Smith back from a concussion that she suffered in a 3-2 loss to UNH and senior striker Allie Dolce on the mend after a bout of sickness in recent games, the team will look to return to the form with which it opened the season, when they won a program-best five games in a row to start the regular season. Smith’s first game back wearing the pads and glove was encouraging as she stopped six shots and only allowed one goal against Maine, whose 3.44 goals-per-game average leads the conference.
Smith and Dolce both missed the Albany matchup, and the Terriers are hoping that their addition to the team will shift the momentum in their favor when they play the same team in the playoffs.
The winners of Saturday’s games will meet in the championship game on Saturday, with the AE champion taking on the Northeast Conference’s champion on Tuesday.
“We have to take it one step at a time and move in a forward direction,” Starr said. “I think that’s the biggest thing right now, you can’t look at anything beyond the fact of who we need to compete against and who we need to be successful against, and right now, that’s Albany.”
While looking past the first round before the game is played could be deadly for the Terriers, a glimpse at the rest of the competition for the rest of us reveals some fascinating potential storylines for the developing postseason. Here is a quick sketch of the teams BU could potentially play en route to an NCAA tournament berth.
Albany: This is the only guaranteed matchup for the Terriers this postseason, and it also promises to be a tough game. After playing against each other for 100 minutes of field hockey only two weeks ago, these teams are very familiar with one another. The Great Danes do a good job of balancing attack and defense, posting a 1.44 GAA and a 2.50 GPG.
Because the Terriers have a full week to prepare, expect them to start the game energized and with a clear game plan. If they can maintain that energy for 70 minutes, they will come away with a victory. After all, they will certainly have the image of the Great Danes celebrating after their last matchup percolating in their minds to motivate them.
UNH: The Wildcats are the undisputed regular-season AE champions, having swept the conference competition. While some of those wins were less convincing than they might have liked them to be&-see a 2-0 victory over the University of Vermont and a 3-2 win against Maine&-they closed the regular season with a 4-1 drubbing of the second-seeded Great Danes. UNH means business this postseason, and the fact that it will be hosting all three games can only add to its momentum.
This is the team that has the best chance at preventing the Terriers from going to the NCAA tournament this postseason. If the Terriers have to play the Wildcats in the second round, you can bet that it will be a close and hard-fought game. However, look for Smith to come up big against a team that put three past her immediately before her injury earlier in the season and for the Terrier offense to score at least a couple of goals against the worst defense in the tournament (1.89 goals allowed per game).
Maine: The Black Bears are the only team playing in the AE tournament that the Terriers have defeated this year. However, if Maine defeats UNH in the first round, they will have momentum back on their side and will be playing a young Terrier team that has shown a nagging ability to underestimate weaker competition.
If BU can bring their “A’ game against Maine, they should win easily. While the Black Bears have an electric offense on paper (3.44 GPG) they have played some weak teams this year that have boosted their stats. BU’s stifling defense should be able to stand up to them. However, if the Terriers underestimate the Black Bears, the matchup could come down to the wire.
Northeast Conference (Play-in game): If the Terriers make it to this final step leading to the NCAA tournament, they should have no trouble finishing off the likes of Rider, Monmouth, Quinnipiac or Bryant Universities, who are the contenders for the Northeast Conference title. While their records may be solid, their schedules are weak, and their highest national ranking is Monmouth’s No. 33. Again, unless the Terriers fall victim to underestimation, if they can get to the play-in game, they should be able to head to the NCAA tourney.
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