A road trip to Virginia proved disappointing for the Boston University field hockey team this weekend. Looking to extend its first winning streak of the year, BU instead lost a tough 2-0 decision to the No. 4 University of Virginia Friday night before falling in a 2-1 double overtime nail-biter to No. 15 Old Dominion University Sunday afternoon.
The Terriers (3-7) were immediately put behind the 8-ball against the Cavaliers as UVA’s Paige Selenski put the home team ahead less than two minutes into the game with her eighth goal of the season. A defensive struggle then ensued, with BU holding a narrow 3-2 shot advantage at halftime, albeit with nothing to show for it.
The second half saw complete domination by Virginia. The Cavaliers were able to test Terriers junior goalie Amanda Smith with 11 shots while allowing BU forwards absolutely no looks at the net. Smith was able to keep her team in the game until Selenski broke through with a deflection for her second goal of the game eight minutes from regulation time.
Virginia continued its successful season and improved its record to 9-0, outshooting the Terriers by a 13-3 margin and had the edge in penalty corners 8-3.
‘I feel we really played some outstanding hockey in the first half,’ BU coach Sally Starr said. ‘Virginia is a team that I believe will definitely make the Final Four. We played a great first half, particularly when you think how young we are.’
The Terriers looked to bounce back from the defeat two days later in their match with the Monarchs. This time it was BU that was able to take the early lead. Junior Allie Dolce raced into the circle and put in her fifth goal of the season nine minutes into the game. After contributing three points during her sophomore year, Dolce already has 15 (5 goals, 5 assists) so far this year.
‘She’s really become one of our go-to players,’ Starr said. ‘She really had an outstanding weekend. Her leadership on the field was very high today.’
This proved to be the only bright spot in the game for Starr’s team, however. The Terriers were unable to capitalize in any of their other first-half chances. The second half proved a similar story to the previous game as the Terriers were outshot, 9-1, in the frame. It appeared as though they might squeak out a win until Old Dominion’s Katie Ueberroth dribbled through several defenders to put the two teams level with eight minutes to go in the game.
Starr did not think the long road trip was the main contributing factor to the lackluster second half performances.
‘I think we really need to look into why we’re struggling so much,’ she said. ‘We’ve had some injuries, so bench fitness has become a factor in the second half.’
The Terriers were able to earn two penalty corners in the first overtime, but could not convert on them. In the second overtime it was the Monarchs that were given three penalty corners, finally capitalizing on the last one. Loran Hatch was able to score off the top of the circle exactly 93:00 after the start of the game.
Old Dominion had a slim shot advantage over Boston University, 17-14, while earning 12 penalty corners to the Terriers’ six.
Starr’s undoubtedly tired team returns to Massachusetts this week for a home match against the University of Vermont Saturday morning followed by a neutral tilt against Duke University. The Terriers will look to put their frustrating road trip behind them and start the second half of the season on a positive note.
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