Boston University

09/19/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/20/2024 03:58

BU Field Hockey Launches Patriot League Play Friday

BU Field Hockey Launches Patriot League Play Friday

Team is stronger after difficult out-of-conference schedule

The field hockey team celebrates a shoot-out victory over Brown University September 8. Katie Devine (CAS'25) scored two goals and converted in the shootout to help the Terriers break a two-game losing streak. Photo by Jon Ratner

Varsity Sports

BU Field Hockey Launches Patriot League Play Friday

Team is stronger after difficult out-of-conference schedule

September 19, 2024
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Tess Csejka has clear recall of her disappointment when BU's field hockey team suffered a season-ending 2-1 loss in overtime to Lehigh during the Patriot League championship two years ago. Last year brought more of the same when the Terriers dropped a 3-2 contest to Lafayette in the league semifinals.

"I still remember that feeling," says Csejka (CAS'25), who was unable to play in the game because of an injury. "Last year, being on the sidelines, it really felt no different, just coming so close and working really hard."

Csejka, who is returning to the team after a medical redshirt last year, is hoping for a different outcome this fall. Also returning to the team are Ella Rottinghaus (CAS'25) and Maddie Hudson (CAS'26), who were also sidelined by injuries last year. The three join an experienced roster returning six of its seven point leaders from last season.

"With all the returners, they know that experience and they still feel it," Csejka adds. "Hopefully, that'll give us that extra push to really do it this year and put everything we can into this [season]."

It took only about two minutes into this season's first game for Csejka to record a goal. The Terriers blanked Providence 3-0 to open 2024 play.

Now, as the Terriers (3-3 in non-conference play) prepare to launch their Patriot League season this weekend, they're hoping the success of that first game is a harbinger of things to come. They open their conference schedule against Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa., on Friday.

BU was battle-tested early this season with a 6-0 loss to No. 17 Boston College and a 5-2 loss to No. 12 Michigan in back-to-back games. Sally Starr, who is entering her 43rd season as head coach, says the team experienced some "really good growth" over the two games.

"We could be playing easier competition and be [undefeated] right now, but not really know much about ourselves," Starr says. "Playing teams like Boston College and Michigan really exposes the part of the game that we need to work on and it shows us we can be a really good team when we put it together."

Addison Jay (CAS'28) during a game against Brown University in Providence, R.I., September 8. The field hockey team, ranked fourth in the Patriot League preseason poll, enters conference play at 3-3 before playing Bucknell this Friday. Photo by Jon Ratner

The team bounced back in dramatic fashion with a 3-2 shootout victory over Brown on September 8. Katie Devine (CAS'25) scored a pair of goals in the winning effort. She has recorded the second-most goals on the team this season, behind midfielder Payton Anderson (CAS'25), who has four.

Anderson, the 2022 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, and midfielder Martu Coulo (CAS'26) were both selected to the All-Patriot League Preseason Team.

"Obviously, it's great to be recognized for that," Anderson says. "It doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot, because the way we perform in season really matters."

The offense has been spread out so far with seven different goal scorers and eight different players recording an assist.

"To have such versatility with our goal scorers, it's going to be really good, especially when teams try to scout us," Csejka says. "That's a huge advantage."

Starr says this year's Terriers have the potential to be a "very, very good team," but there are still a number of areas of improvement they need to concentrate on, including doing a better job of keeping possession of the ball.

Starr and Anderson point to the team's strong forward line as its greatest strength. "We're a very fast team, so we would love to be able to play with that kind of speed," Anderson says. "Something we're struggling to do at the moment is using our speed to our advantage, so going forward, that's definitely something we've been talking about."

This year's roster has six freshmen, and Starr says she is confident that they will help push the team into a strong second half of the season as they enter Patriot League play. "The freshmen aren't playing like freshmen," she says. "They're going to be competing to play as the season progressess. They allow the quality of our practice sessions to be really high because they are so ready to play."

Time in goal has been split between Kate Thomason (CAS'25) and Sophie Ortyl (CAS'27). Thomason started every game last season and recorded a 0.705 save percentage across five games played. Ortyl has started two games this season, with a 0.688 save percentage.

With the team tried and tested now, the Terriers say they're ready to embark on their conference schedule this weekend.

Playing strong teams "really challenges us to rise to the occasion and play at their speed and at their skill level," Anderson says. "That is just going to help us get better going forward into Patriot League games."

The BU field hockey team will travel to Lewisburg, Pa., to play Bucknell University in the Patriot League opener on Friday, September 20, 2024, at 4 pm. All field hockey games can be streamed live on ESPN+.

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