Second Half Struggles Doom Field Hockey Against UMass Amherst

By Andrew Mason

AMHERST, MA — No. 16 Boston University Field Hockey dropped its second game in a row Sunday afternoon, this time at the hands of UMass Amherst, 2-1.

Both the Terrier offense and defense looked excellent in the first half. Freshman forward Ailsa Connolly found the back of the net in the 22nd minute for her third goal as a Terrier. Connolly stepped up and smacked in the quick pass from midfielder Kali Shumock to give the Terrier squad a 1-0 lead early on.

Meanwhile, BU’s defense was able to fluster the Minutewomen, not allowing a single shot on goal during the first 35 minutes. As expected, it was junior goalkeeper Kathleen Keegan who saw all minutes in goal during the first half, before switching with freshman Millie Baker for half number two.

As was the case in last Friday’s loss to Albany, the Terriers did not come out at halftime with the same discipline as they had in the first half. Sloppy defense gave four second half corner shots to UMass, who converted two into goals. While Minutewomen Sarah Hawkshaw and Anne Dijkstra scored off these penalty corners (53:20 and 62:27, respectively), BU failed to put up any more points against UMass goalkeeper Emily Hazard for the remainder of the game.

BU was, however, able to keep UMass star freshman Lucy Cooper somewhat under control. The Minutewomen’s leading goal scorer this season (12 pts on 4g, 4a) did not find an opportunity to put a shot up on goal. Cooper finished Sunday afternoon with 1 assist.

The loss puts both the Terriers and the Minutewomen at 4-2 on the season. BU has now lost four straight to UMass, shifting the all-time series to a 19-18-2 record in favor of BU. BU still currently sits at the 16th seed in the NCAA Division I official rankings.

The Terrier squad will have a full week to gather their bearings and prepare to conclude  their five-game road trip at the University of Connecticut. BU will faceoff with the No. 2 ranked Huskies on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m.