In its first loss at Nickerson Field in nearly two years, the Boston University women’s soccer team fell to the University of San Francisco 1-0 Sunday.
The Dons (3-2-1) came into the match after a 1-0 loss at Harvard University Friday, while the Terriers (4-2) were fresh off a 2-1 victory on the road against Providence College Thursday.
The Terriers had a nearly flawless record in the early makings of the season, without a loss in its first two home games and its only defeat coming against No. 9 University of South Carolina on Aug. 29th.
The favored Terriers came out looking very comfortable to start the game, patiently holding onto the ball while the Dons gave up possession multiple times on defense in the early minutes.
Yet despite the early imbalance, USF came up with a goal in the 10th minute after pouncing on a loose ball that BU’s defenders failed to take care of. The score came from a soft floating cross by forward Sydnie Telson that at first seemed harmless, but the inability of the Terrier defense to communicate with sophomore goalkeeper Bridget Conway allowed USF defender Jessica Nakae to creep into the box unmarked and poke a shot past the helpless Conway.
The pressure on BU persisted briefly after the goal, as the Dons looped a threatening corner that nearly found an unmarked player at the far post, showing promise to double their lead.
The Terriers looked fatigued in the final third of the pitch throughout the first 25 minutes of the game, as the passes were slow and the shots sailed far from the goal. BU’s best chance of the first half came in the 36th minute when sophomore forward Erica Kosienski found the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, cut outside to beat her marker and nearly got a shot off just a few yards in front of goal until a diving block from a USF defender deflected the attempt wide.
The Dons looked like the more likely team to score at the end of the half. The BU defense experienced another couple moments of discomfort as a unit, unable to take responsibility and clear the ball. A giveaway in the Terriers’ box gave Nakae another shot in the box that nearly found the target.
Both offenses looked rigid in the first half, as each goalkeeper required just a single save. USF held a 3-2 margin in total shots for the period.
BU continued to hold onto the ball in the second half, working up the wings through junior forward Jenna Fisher and senior forward Ana Cuffia.
But the combination of a disciplined USF defense and a lack of creativity from the Terriers on attack prevented BU from threatening the goal.
“We had great defending. We limited [USF],” said BU coach Nancy Feldman. “But we never kept the ball, and when we did, we weren’t creating, and we were settling. We wasted the first half not establishing ourselves.”
It was well into the second half until the Terriers made a meaningful chance. In the 65th minute, Cuffia found the ball on the left wing and cut aggressively inside to get off a shot that earned BU a corner. The restart put a dangerous ball into the box before coming back out to junior defender McKenzie Hollenbaugh, who fired a lobbed attempt just wide of the target.
“Today was a disappointing game overall,” said Cuffia of her side’s attack. “It felt like we were chasing the game, but we did great when we stayed on our feet and kept possession. But we kept losing [the ball] and getting it back. It was difficult to hold onto it.”
“In the first half we only won 47 percent of 50-50 balls, and we had to get it back, and that was hard to get around,” Feldman said. “We knew they would be our equal, and they were. And we never really grabbed the match. We came out a little flat. The passion wasn’t really there. They did the little things and grabbed the edge, and then the game tips on a bad exchange between a back and a goalkeeper.”
