Defying an eight-year precedent, the No. 12 Boston University women’s soccer team won its first round game in the NCAA Tournament against Harvard University, 3-0, Saturday afternoon at Nickerson Field.
Not only was it the Terriers’ (19-2-1, 8-0-0 America East) initial time hosting an NCAA game, but it was their first tournament win since 2003.
Among the many factors contributing to the shutout victory against the Crimson (12-5-1, 6-0-1 Ivy League), the ability to play at home was certainly an immense benefit, according to senior midfielder Brittany Heist.
“Playing out here today, it just felt like playing a regular season game — there wasn’t as much hype, we’ve been on Nickerson all year and practice on Nickerson so it was awesome,” Heist said. “It was a great feeling to know that we got another game on Nickerson.”
Fellow captain and senior midfielder Jessica Luscinski heartily agreed.
“I think as a senior all four years I’ve been here, we’ve made Nickerson a terrible place for other teams to come in and play,” she said. “And I think we were just able to continue that so next year these girls are going to pick it up right where we left off.”
The Terriers came out playing strong on Saturday afternoon to face their Ivy League opponents for the first time since late September, when they also defeated the Crimson 3-0.
Sophomore midfielder Kylie Strom scored the game’s first goal about half way through the first half, with the aid of some slight confusion on the field.
Senior defender Lina Cords took a free kick, which was perfectly aimed to senior forward Tiya Gallegos in the box. However, Gallegos, who was credited with the assist, appeared to collide with Harvard goalkeeper Bethany Kanten, which pushed the ball in Strom’s direction and allowed her to put it in the back of the net.
Freshman forward Ana Cuffia responded with her first collegiate goal less than 10 minutes later, doubling the Terriers’ lead.
“Ana is a special player — she’s a great attacking player and she’s got great skill,” BU head coach Nancy Feldman said. “She’s got great pace, she’s mobile and what Ana’s gotten better at is some of the tactics that is the way we play, not that she didn’t come here with any knowledge of soccer tactics, but just getting comfortable with what we’re asking her to do.”
“She’s gotten better every day at practice which is why she’s earning playing time. She’s a very technical player and you’ve got to be a very technical player to finish the ball that she finished in there. That was a very precise finish.”
Entering the second half, the Terriers continued to present an unrelenting attack on the Crimson defense. Unfortunately for Harvard, one of its own players headed a shot into their own goal, assisting BU by giving them a comfortable lead and effectively putting the game close to out of reach.
Throughout the game the Crimson played to the Terriers’ strengths, knowing what would most affect their method of play.
“We’re a passing a team, a sharing the ball team, and I think Harvard knows that and was scouting that, and I think that they made that hard for us, particularly in the middle of the field,” Feldman said. “They’ve got some really terrific individual attacking players and our one-on-one defending had to be really good. We had to arrive when they got the ball, not only bask it.
“So, I thought it was a combination of figuring out how we could attack without having turnovers and then making sure we were taking care of those individual personality players by getting tight on them.”
One surprise to BU fans was that senior goalkeeper Alice Binns played both halves of the game, as the Terriers switch their goal keeper and sophomore goal keeper Kelly King was even seen warming up during half time.
Still, Binns earned a clean sheet in 90 minutes of play, blocking all four shots on goal.
“We had determined at the beginning of the game that if Alice, if she was healthy all the way through, was going to play the whole game,” Feldman said. “They’ve both been playing well, but Alice is a little more experienced. She made it look like it was the right choice today, not that
Kelly couldn’t have gotten the job done, but I thought Alice played a heck of a game.”
What’s not a surprise is the team’s consistent approach to their next game, this time against Wake Forest University, the top seed in the region, on Friday.
But for now, Feldman is just concerned with moving on to the next game and taking time to enjoy her team’s win.
“I actually haven’t even thought about Wake Forest because we poured all our energies into this game and that’s how we’ve done it all year long,” Feldman said. “It’s just whatever the next game is, that’s the one we think about, try not to get too far ahead of ourselves.
“But we’re really excited to represent Boston University in a second round game, represent the America East and play a great team and a great opponent like Wake Forest. And we’re confident we can be successful.”
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