Women’s Lacrosse: BU Opens Season Against BC
By: Marisa Ingemi
The Boston University women’s lacrosse team will open its 2016 season on Friday afternoon when it hosts the Boston College Eagles at Nickerson Field. The original game was scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. and was rescheduled to Friday at the same time due to weather over the weekend in the northeast.
BU ended last season with a 17-9 loss to BC and this will be the first contest of the season for both teams. BU is coming off of an 8-10 season while the Eagles are ranked #10 in the nation and one of the strongest teams in the ACC.
Six of the top seven scorers on the Terriers roster will return for the 2016 season, leaving BU with most of its core in tact. BU also returns both of its goaltenders, junior Caroline Meegan and sophomore Christine Laible.
Mickenzie Laviree broke out in the previous contests between these two teams, scoring five out of her 11 goals of the season. She is a player to watch as a potential break out in 2016 and also in this game. Covie Stanwick, now graduated, scored five goals in that game and Kenzie Kent scored four.
Finishing 2015 with a 15-4 record, BC closed its season strong with the victory over the Terriers. At one point last season, BC was ranked as high as #2 in the country. Last season the Eagles scored ten goals in the second half of the game, and to win this one, BU will have to contain that attack.
BU was projected to finish third in the Patriot League in 2016 while seniors Mallory Collins and Jill Horka were selected to the women’s Patriot League first time before the season. Collins led BU in scoring last season while Horka is one of the best faceoff specialists in the conference.
The Eagles are a veteran team in comparison to BU, returning two of its three leading scorers as seniors, Sarah Mannelly and Caroline Margolis. Kent, a freshman last season who had a big game against BU, is a player projected to break out in 2016 and someone the Terriers should key on.
Zoe Ochoa will be between the pipes for the Eagles, a junior goaltender as well, likely going against Meegan for BU. Faceoff time is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon and it will be the opening game for both teams.