No. 13 field hockey claims first 6-0 start in program history

The No. 13 Boston University field hockey team opened the 2016 season in record-setting fashion, winning its first six games for the first time in program history.

The Terriers (6-0) won both of their games over the weekend, claiming the first of two victories in a 2-1 contest against No. 20 University of Maine. They went on to shutout the University of California, Davis 5-0 on Sunday afternoon.

On Friday night against the Black Bears (5-1), the match began fairly evenly, with both teams having several scoring chances. The Terriers had the shot advantage, however, winning it 7-3 in the first half despite going scoreless.

In the second half, it was BU who opened the scoring in the 51st minute. After Maine redshirt senior Adriana Martineau received a yellow card, senior midfielder and captain Hester Van der Laan pushed into the offensive zone around three defenders and shot the ball past the left side of goalkeeper Emily Corbett.

“[Maine’s] player that had a penalty is one of their better defenders, so I think they were scrambling trying to figure out how fill that hole,” said BU head coach Sally Starr. “Particularly for Hester, it was a gorgeous, gorgeous individual effort.”

Seventeen minutes later, sophomore forward Ally Hammel put the Terriers up 2-0 on a shot from the outer circle and into the top left corner of the net.

Shortly after BU took the 2-0 lead, Maine would put one back, ending the shutout bid for Terrier goalkeeper Cammy Jensen. Fullback Samantha Wagg shot from the middle of the circle, putting the ball in the top corner past Jensen for her third goal of the season.

It wasn’t enough to complete the comeback, however, as BU continued its winning ways and began focusing on Sunday’s matinee.

“I think our team really battled well. They fought hard, they competed well,” Starr said. “Maine played very disruptive, and they’re very athletic themselves. It was a very fast-paced, hard-played game.”

Coming into Sunday’s game, UC Davis (1-5) had just finished a neutral site game against Maine on Saturday at BU’s New Balance Field. The Terriers took advantage of the team’s short rest, and were able to start with a quick pace and heavy offense in the first half.

“What I liked about today is that we really came out ready to play,” Starr said. “The energy was good, and there was just good synergy on the field.”

The first Terrier goal came just over five minutes into the match. Van der Laan brought the ball into the circle for a shot that rebounded to sophomore midfielder/fullback Allie Doggett, who successfully converted her first goal of the season.

Ten minutes later, senior forward Sara Martineau grabbed a rebound from Aggie goalkeeper Beth Lee and put it through the right post, increasing the lead to two.

With just under two minutes left in the half, senior forward Taylor Blood scored off a penalty corner opportunity for her third goal of the season, giving the Terriers a 3-0 lead going into the second frame.

The offensive onslaught continued for the Terriers in the latter half of the match.

In the 41st minute, a BU corner resulted in a penalty stroke given to Van der Laan, who quickly turned it in past Lee, putting her team up 4-0.

Just over four minutes later, junior forward Grace Boston received the same penalty stroke opportunity, but her shot went wide.

Boston did eventually notch her first goal of the season, however, with just over 12 minutes remaining in the second half. The Broomall, Pennsylvania native tapped the ball in past Aggie goalkeeper Chelsea Bigelow, capping off Jensen’s first shutout of the year.

The wins left Starr incredibly proud of her team’s early success.

“I think we played a really sweet hockey game the majority of the time,” Starr said. “We really created some really good offense, moved the ball around really well, and showed a lot of creativity.”