The Boston University women’s soccer team will face off against the United States Naval Academy Friday on Nickerson Field in a Patriot League showdown.
The Midshipmen (7-3-3, 4-0 Patriot League) will make their way to Boston after a 2-0 win against Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
BU head coach Nancy Feldman said she had her team focusing on its own play before going up against the current Patriot League leader.
“We [win] by continuing to play the best we can and play our style and neutralizing what [Navy] wants to do,” Feldman said. “In our preparation, we try to figure out how to attack and defend them best. But it mostly has to do with us being consistent and playing our game to the best of our ability.”
The Terriers (4-7-2, 3-0-1 Patriot League) have conceded more goals than they have scored so far this season, letting in 17 goals while scoring 14 through their 13 games, while Navy has shown more aptitude in front of goal so far with 18 goals scored and 14 goals against in 13 matches.
Midshipman defender Baseley McClaskey, Navy’s top scorer, has six goals and four assists for 16 points this season.
McClaskey and sophomore forward Anna Heilferty are in second and third place, respectively, in the race to be the top goal-scorer of the Patriot League.
Terrier offense will have to go up against Navy’s defense, which has averaged the third-fewest goals per game among Patriot League teams, conceding just 1.047 per game.
Midshipman goalkeeper Sydney Fortson has started in 12 games, maintaining a goals-against average of 1.01.
In the game against Lehigh (3-8, 0-4 Patriot League), Fortson put up nine saves in her sixth shutout of the season.
The Terriers also enter this match after winning their last, where they beat Lafayette University 2-0 in a Patriot League contest.
BU forced the Leopards’ (4-7, 1-3 Patriot League) goalkeeper Maggie Pohl to make a season high-tying nine saves, while Terrier sophomore goalie Amanda Fay did not face any shots on goal.
Feldman attributed the team’s win to offensive pressure keeping the ball in the opposing team’s third of the field.
“We kept the ball,” Feldman explained. “We tried to keep the pressure by having the ball in their half of the field. That’s the best defense, right? When we lose the ball, winning the ball back early or getting back into our defense faster than the counter is important.”
Heilferty has stood out for the Terriers this season, leading the team in goals with five and assists with four.
She was awarded her first Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week title Monday after picking up five points during the team’s recent matches against Lafayette and the College of the Holy Cross.
Freshman midfielder Taylor Kofton has also produced offensively, scoring her first two goals against Lafayette, assisted by Heilferty and senior defender Pietra Sweeney.
Feldman stated Kofton has stepped into a bigger role in the team in the absence of senior midfielder Julianna Chen, who has been out due to injury since Sept. 9.
“Sometimes the worst things that can happen to a team, like losing a player,” Feldman said, “but the silver lining is that Kofton can become more of a competent player earlier in her career. Now when [Chen] comes back, we have two players that are capable rather than just one.”
In the clash between the Midshipmen and the Terriers last year, Navy stole the game with a headed goal off of a corner kick in the 85th minute.
Navy ended up finishing with the best record in the Patriot League, drawing in one conference match and losing none, while the Terriers finished in third place in 2017.
Coming into this match, Navy has the best record in the league and sits right above BU and Colgate University, that both have three wins and a tie in conference play.
Both teams will put their undefeated conference records on the line in a game that could affect Patriot League rankings.
“Well, it’s too early to start thinking about winning the conference, but every game is three points,” Feldman said. “This game is the next game up. This is the next opportunity to grab three more points, which are valuable to get into the tournament. No one is guaranteed a spot.”