Apparently, size does matter, at least for the Boston University field hockey team – although when it comes to turf, smaller is better.
For instead of playing on field turf, a longer type of artificial mat that is good for soccer but bad for field hockey, the team has decided to play its home games at nearby campuses, and forsake its old homeland of Nickerson Field.
This way, the Terriers will instead play their games on a shorter type of turf that allows for more ball and foot speed.
So instead of traveling to BU, the Massachusetts field hockey team will instead head over to Bentley College, in order to square off with the Terriers.
This game is pivotal for the confidence of the Minutewomen, who have struggled to a 2-5 (0-0 Atlantic 10) record thus far. However, the team has shown signs of improvement of late, battling UConn closely last Saturday before succumbing to its rival, 3-1.
“We are a pretty young team, but we have gotten better with every game,” Head Coach Patty Shea said. “This [contest] will give us a chance to pull our game closer together.”
Overall, Shea has been happy with her team’s progress, especially after the game against the Huskies.
“Sometimes when there is a loss on the scoreboard, it is tough to find the positives, especially when you are a player,” she said. “But you need to look within the game to find good things. Sometimes tough losses are your best games.”
As could be expected, Anke Bruemmer has once again led the offense for the Maroon and White. The senior back has totaled seven goals and is looking to eclipse her previous career-high of 16 by the season’s end.
When UMass is not on the penalty corner, the majority of the offense has been generated by Erika Whiston (three goals, three assists) and by Stacey Blue (one goal, three assists). Freshman Ashley Gilbert has also contributed to the attack with a goal and a pair of helpers.
For BU (4-4, 3-0 America East), Felicia Cappabianca has led the team with four goals and two assists, while Whitney Peabody and Jane Rogers have also been offensive forces, totaling four and three scores, respectively. On the other side of the ball, Susan Harrington has manned the net, boasting a 2.56 goals against average.
“They are a young team,” Shea said. “But they are fast, have stick skills and have experience in goal. We have to deny them the ball, close out their spaces in a hurry, and on the other side of the field we need to take the ball to goal.”
Last year during the regular season, the Minutewomen and Terriers had an absolute battle, with the Maroon and White finally prevailing 2-1 after two overtime periods and two periods of penalty strokes. In the NCAA playoffs, the two teams met once again and BU once again fell by the same score.
In fact, the last four times these teams have played, the score has been 2-1, with UMass coming out the victor in three of those contests.
One sign that bodes well for the Minutewomen is that they defeated Boston College earlier in the year 2-1, while the Terriers fell to the Eagles 4-1. However, Shea warned that using that as a way to judge another team could end up being a fatal mistake.
“Every weekend somebody is beating somebody else up,” the fifth year coach said. “You just have to take care of yourselves. We want to build up to conference play because our goal is to make the NCAA tournament.”
A win against BU would be a good way to start.
