Junior midfielder Ella Gunson intercepted a pass from a Northeastern University midfielder with just over seven minutes left in double overtime. She single-handedly dribbled through both the middle and attacking zones and fired the ball goalkeeper Lizzie Priest to give the No. 13 Boston University field hockey team a crucial and dramatic win.
Gunson’s third goal of the game helped BU (10–6, 3–1 America East) upset rival No. 10 Northeastern (12–4), in one of its most important games of the season in terms of making it into the NCAA tournament.
“[This was] a tremendous victory for a team that just wouldn’t quit,” said BU coach Sally Starr. “I couldn’t be prouder of the way this team played.”
From the beginning BU looked primed to take a victory in the game. Not even a full three minutes into the game, freshman forward Sofie Laurito beat nearly the entire Husky defense to score her first career goal.
Not long after that, the officiating came into play. In the 18th minute the referees called a penalty stroke that even left some Northeastern players looking puzzled. From six meters, senior goalkeeper Jess Maroney could not stop Northeastern’s leading goal-scorer, senior Crystal Poland and the game was tied at one.
“There were game-changing calls that really could have impacted this game,” Starr said. “I think I would have cried at the end of this game if we had lost because I really felt the officiating was that poor.”
Gunson’s first of three goals came only two minutes later, assisted by senior midfielder Nicole van Oosterom. It was the last goal of the half.
After the break, the Huskies scored two goals in a span of two minutes that gave BU 25 minutes to come back from what was only recently a one-goal lead.
Despite the fact that they lacked two starters due to injury, the Terriers sent the game into overtime after leveling a 3–2 deficit in the 56th minute, again with a shot from Gunson and again assisted by van Oosterom.
“It’s great to get three goals, but it was more of a team effort,” Gunson said. “Everyone played so well. We played with heart and played really hard.”
The final 120 seconds of play were exclusively penalty corners against BU, much to the confusion and dismay of Terrier coaches and players alike.
Maroney stopped every attempt. Each corner added to her 12 total saves at the end of the game.
Once in overtime, the already adrenaline-ridden game only intensified. The offenses of both teams shifted to extremely high-pressure, so shots, saves, corners and penalties came rapidly. Something seemed different for the Terriers though, and it was not working in their favor.
“We weren’t building the ball up the way we needed to build the ball up, so we called a timeout [in the 75th minute],” Starr said. “It was a tactic that definitely worked well, and it was also a tactic that helped save our legs a little bit.”
Whatever happened in the huddle worked for BU. The Terriers had three corners, and Maroney did not have to make a single save.
The biggest moment of the first overtime period was not strategy-driven though. It was a technicality.
With less than five minutes left, van Oosterom was awarded a penalty stroke when a blatant trip from a Northeastern defender, but she hit the post on her chance.
After 15 more extra minutes, the two teams were still level. That changed eight minutes into the second overtime.
Almost immediately, Gunson took off, getting around almost every Husky on the field and was tripped as she laid a pass off to van Oosterum. Her shot went in, but the officials called a corner. Gunson received a green card for dissent.
“I think [the official] should have held advantage,” Starr said. “Clearly, Ella was getting through, but she called for a foul when there really wasn’t need.”
A series of traded corners then ensued. Stress built among the players, among the coaches, and among the spectators so that every call was game-changing, and every shot, potentially game-winning.
Everything changed when Gunson intercepted a possession pass in the midfield, scoring the game-winning goal and keeping the Terriers’ NCAA tournament chances alive.
The Terriers will look to keep the NCAA tournament dream alive on Saturday when they host Fairfield University on Senior Day.
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