The 2012 Boston University women’s soccer season came to an end Monday when the NCAA announced the teams competing in this year’s NCAA Tournament and BU’s name was not called.
Due to BU’s (12–6–1, 8–0–0) move to the Patriot League next season, all sports have been banned from playing in the America East postseason tournaments, which meant BU did not have a chance to get an automatic-bid by winning the America East championship.
“It presented itself as a challenging start given circumstances of the America East decision,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “There was a little bit of challenge for us to get over that, or at least be able to be able to put that out of our daily thinking.”
It was an abrupt end to the season considering how well the team played this year. Going up against some of the best teams in the country, including defending national champion Stanford University, the Terriers were battle-tested in their non-conference games.
“I thought we handled ourselves very well during the non-conference portion of our season, gave Stanford a run for their money, competed well against the Daytons, Santa Clara, the Harvards of the world,” Feldman said.
Even though the Terriers lost out on the ultimate prize, playing for a national championship, the team still had an impressive season. The Terriers won their sixth consecutive America East regular season title, finishing with a perfect conference record and extended their incredible 32-game winning streak versus America East conference opponents.
The only way the Terriers could have made it into the NCAA Tournament was by way of an at-large bid, but due to a low RPI of 74 and no wins against elite programs, the Terriers résumé was not as polished as many other schools. However, the Terriers did enjoy much individual success.
Led by Feldman, the Terriers coaching staff won America East Coaching Staff of the Year for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Senior Jessica Morrow was named defender of the year, and Junior Emma Clark was chosen as midfielder of the year. Feldman spoke highly of both players.
“Jess Morrow from the beginning of the season to the end of the season was a core player for us. She was a stabilizing force for us. That’s something that she grew into this year,” Feldman said. “Emma Clark didn’t start the season as a core player, but she ended the season as a core player.
“Emma Clark was the second player on our team to stabilize us in our play, in our training, with our mentality, with a consistency. That evolved from the beginning of the season to the end of the season.”
Clark kept the tradition of great BU midfielders alive, as it is the fifth year in a row a Terrier won the award.
She was an integral part of the Terriers success this season. Clark was second on the team with four goals, and finished with nine total points, second on the team as well. Junior goalkeeper Andrea Green’s play cannot be understated either.
Sitting on the bench her first two seasons at BU, Green was finally given the job of starting goaltender and played great throughout the entire season. Starting all 19 games, Green posted a 0.86 goals-against average, recorded 62 saves and posted an impressive seven shutouts. In her first season as a starter, Green’s performance was critical to many of the Terriers’ wins, especially during conference play.
Although the season ended on a sour note for BU, the Terriers have a lot to look forward to going into next season.
Most of the Terriers’ starters from this season will return, and with a lot of young talent, they will look to make a statement as they enter their first season in the Patriot League.
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