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11/06/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 11/07/2024 10:00

Field Hockey, Women’s Soccer Ready for Patriot League Semifinals

Field Hockey, Women's Soccer Ready for Patriot League Semifinals

The Boston University field hockey Terriers feel optimistic heading into their November 7 Patriot League semifinal game against American, head coach Sally Starr says. Photo by Matt Woolverton

Athletics

Field Hockey, Women's Soccer Ready for Patriot League Semifinals

The No. 4-seed field hockey team will play American University and No. 2-seed soccer will host Army

November 6, 2024
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Both the Boston University field hockey team and the women's soccer team got off to less than ideal starts in their 2024 seasons. Field hockey started 2-3 and was outscored 8-19 in the first five games. Meanwhile, women's soccer was winless through the first nine games.

Both programs managed turnarounds, however, and both will begin a quest for a Patriot League championship title, playing in conference semifinals on Thursday.

The No. 4-seed field hockey team takes on No. 1-seed American University in Washington, D.C., at 11 am. The No. 2-seed women's soccer team faces off with No. 3-seed Army West Point at 6 pm on Nickerson Field.

Field hockey in rough patch, but players feel optimistic against American

The field hockey team has lost six of their last seven games, the exception being a 3-1 win over Colgate October 18. However, head coach Sally Starr says that while there are things still to fix, the team has a lot of energy entering Thursday's semifinal.

"We had our senior meal with all the parents and families, and it didn't feel like a team that had lost six of the last seven games at all," Starr says. "The pride was there. The passion was there. The commitment was there. It's a really positive, optimistic attitude we have right now."

Most of the scoring this season has come from upperclassmen, with the top-eight point leaders either juniors or seniors. Given that the team has made the Patriot League tournament the last two years, they understand the pressure and expectations leading up to Thursday's game.

"We have looked back on last year, and we know how that felt, that loss and the year before, how that loss felt," says forward Ella Rottinghaus (CAS'25). "This is our third year in a row going [to the tournament], but this year feels a lot different."

The Terriers, the fourth seed in the tournament, will face the top-seeded American University Eagles. The two teams played in Washington, D.C., on October 11, a 2-0 loss for BU.

The Terrier team has adjusted tactics and formations since then, Rottinghaus says, and the Eagles might be "underestimating us a little bit."

Midfielder Payton Anderson (CAS'25) leads the team with 21 points. Her 10 goals place her in a tie for third-most goals in the Patriot League. Along with midfielder Martu Coulo (CAS'26), Anderson recently added All-Patriot League First Team honors to her résumé.

"She's really the backbone of our defense and also the quarterback on our attack," Starr says. "She comes ready to work every day. I can't really think of a practice where she's taken a day off."

Anderson has Olympic aspirations, following in the footsteps of her father, Scott Anderson, who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as New Zealand's goalie. "He was definitely an inspiration for me, and still is," Anderson says. "He is constantly giving me tips and tricks, always watching my games, always giving me advice on how I can be better."

The team has also relied on goalie Kate Thomason (CAS'25) as the season progressed. She has a 0.715 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average, and her 5.87 saves per game is the second-best in the Patriot League.

When the Terriers take the field on Thursday, they plan to come out strong and take the game as it comes.

"We'll be focusing on the first three minutes and then the next three minutes after that, and just making sure that we are competing with every single ball," Rottinghaus says, "proving everybody wrong-that though we are coming in as the fourth seed, we are able to compete with these teams."

Women's soccer experiences midseason turnaround, enters tournament as No. 2 seed

It has been a tale of two halves for the women's soccer team this season. The start of the year was bleak-the team went 0-6-3 in the first nine games. But then it changed. For the last nine, the Terriers turned a corner, managing a 5-1-3 record and going undefeated in Patriot League play, earning No. 2 seed in the Patriot League tournament.

"We became an unstoppable unit in this second half of the season," says midfielder Giulianna Giannino (Sargent'26). "That shift speaks volumes about our relentlessness. Competing in such a challenging league, it's a huge accomplishment to see how far we've come, pushing toward a championship together."

When the team takes on Army Thursday, it will be a rematch of the regular season finale. The Terriers defeated the Black Knights 1-0 on Nickerson Field October 30 thanks to a goal by Olivia Avellar (Questrom'28) in the final 10 minutes.

The BU women's soccer team earned the No. 2 seed after a midseason turnaround and will host Army at Nickerson Field Thursday at 6 pm. Photo by Kaeli Talora/BU Athletics

"Winning last week was a big accomplishment, but we know that doesn't guarantee anything for Thursday," Giannino says. "We know what it takes to get the job done, and we're ready to step up and do it again."

The team's top point leaders, Giannino and forward Margy Porta (Questrom'26), account for 35 points, or 46 percent of the team's total. The two have been named to the All-Patriot League First Team.

Underclassmen, among them Kaiya Stewart (CAS'27), Juliana Osterman (Sargent'28), Kat Slott (COM'27), and Samantha Aronson (CAS'27), have provided depth to the team.

"It's great. It just shows that no matter who we have in the field, they could be a threat," says assistant coach Megan Burke. "It's constantly juggling around lineups and just knowing and having the comfortableness of putting in different players at any given moment and knowing that they could do something really special out in the field."

The Terrier team is balanced, with the third-most goals-for and the fourth-most goals-against. Aside from three games, every match they've played has been decided by one goal. Burke says it shows that the players are able to bounce back, that they are "never out of the fight."

BU started the season with Celia Braun (CAS'25) in net before making a midseason pivot to Bridget Carr (CAS'28). Burke says both goalkeepers are great, but that they've been really impressed with Carr's confidence as the team enters conference play.

Burke wants that same confidence to radiate from the team when they take to Nickerson Field this Thursday.

"I want to see them attack early. That always gives the team a bit of a boost early on if we could come out with a good bit of momentum, so I think that's the biggest key," Burke says. "But I want them to have fun. I want them to enjoy the moment, and the rest will take care of itself."

The BU field hockey team takes on American University in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, November 7, at 11 am, in the Patriot League semifinals, which will be broadcast on ESPN+. The league championship is Saturday, November 9, at 1 pm, also in Washington, and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The women's soccer team battles Army in a Patriot League semifinal matchup at Nickerson Field on Thursday, November 7, at 6 pm, which will be streamed on ESPN+. The league's championship will be held Sunday, November 10, at 12:30 pm., location TBA. That game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

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