The Boston University women’s lacrosse team won its second straight game Saturday, building off a solid first half to defeat Lehigh University 8-5 on the road.
The Terriers’ (6-5, 4-1 Patriot League) hot offense in the first half Saturday gave them a four-goal lead, which proved to be enough with the help of their stingy second-half defense.
BU allowed what tied a season-fewest five goals to the Mountain Hawks (7-6, 2-3 Patriot League).
After trailing 3-2 midway through the first half, BU scored five unanswered goals before heading to the locker room. The balanced attack for the Terriers gave Lehigh all sorts of problems defensively as six different Terriers found the back of the net in the first half on Saturday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
“I thought we were patient. We did not rush plays in the second half of the first period,” said BU coach Liz Robertshaw. “We slowed it down, and when the team played more of a team-oriented attack, we succeeded, and that is something we want to continue.”
During the five-goal stretch, the Terriers capitalized on loose balls and draw controls, executing well during the last 16 minutes of the first frame. This offensive spurt in the first half gave BU the upper hand at halftime, 7-3.
The Terriers’ defense put forth their best statistical effort of the season, only allowing five goals and out-hustling the Mountain Hawks. The defense bested Lehigh in turnover margin, draw controls and groundballs. Robertshaw said she calls these three statistics “hustle stats” and noted that they are pivotal to her team’s success.
“We wanted to compete on every ground ball and force turnovers, and in pregame, it made me confident when the team was talking about those hustle stats. That means a lot,” she said.
Lehigh, Robertshaw said, plays a slower style of play and excels on long possessions. Robertshaw said she knew coming into Saturday that being focused in the defensive third and forcing turnovers would be where the game would be decided.
“I thought we did a fantastic job of getting loose balls,” she said.
Sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Meegan continued to make great strides between the pipes for BU, allowing just five goals Saturday for the second time in her career. Meegan has allowed 22 goals in her last three outings and has also been very active outside of her cage, scooping up ground balls and playing defense outside of her crease during high-pressure possessions. After her aggressive five-save performance, Meegan also led the team in ground balls for the fourth consecutive game.
“She [Meegan] played great. She came up with huge ground balls. That level of play really helped our defenders know that she had their back,” Robertshaw said. “She is more confident in her role, she looks secure, she looks solid and she takes it personal.”
BU has found success this season when playing from behind. Its forceful style of defense bodes well for comeback victories. On Saturday, the Terriers were able to sit back and focus in defensively after their barrage of goals, which gave them a sizeable cushion for the second frame.
The efficient BU attack chased Lehigh starting goalie Taylor Tvedt following a seven-goal first half. The sophomore goalie only allows 8.16 goals per game on average and has started all 13 contests this season for the Mountain Hawks.
Junior midfielder Ally Adams and junior defenseman Remy Nolan emerged as on-field leaders for the Terriers on Saturday, combining for five first-half points. Robertshaw said their efforts helped swing the momentum in the Terriers’ favor.
“Ally has been great all year, and she was fearless in her shooting. Remy is good at getting to the right spot at the right time,” she said.
The balanced Terrier effort leap-frogged them into a tie for second place in the conference while improving to 4-1 in Patriot League play.
“I think it is going to take work,” Robertshaw said. “We are going to need to keep competing in practice so we can in games, but I think we are taking steps in the right direction.”
