Women’s Soccer: Terriers hope to secure first road win at West Virginia

By: Liam O’Brien

The Boston University women’s soccer team continues its three-game road trip on Thursday night when they take on Big 12 opponent West Virginia University in the Mountain State.

After silencing UConn 3-0 on September 2, the Terriers (1-6-1) have gone scoreless in their last two contests. They’ve been been solid on the defensive end, allowing just one goal in these two contests with sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Fay making nine saves on the 10 shots she faced over the past two games span.

The focus for BU will be to simplify the game and ramp up their offensive pressure.

“It’s about making the game a little bit easier at times,” said head coach Nancy Feldman. “It’s about getting the tempo with the ball and our touch, moving the ball and passing on time.”

This is the final game before conference play for the Terriers, who currently have the worst record in the Patriot League.

The Mountaineers (2-2-3) have pushed some tough teams to the brink over the course of their non-conference slate. They lost to 21st-ranked Penn State by just one goal in the season opener before tying 12th-ranked Northwestern on August 26.

In their last contest, WVU traveled to South Carolina and handled Clemson, 2-1, with sophomore midfielder Stefany Ferrer-Vanginkel and senior forward Hannah Abraham scoring their first goals of the season.

The Mountaineers’ offense has been produced by a variety of sources thus far, with the team’s seven goals coming from seven different players.

Goalkeeper Rylee Foster has served every minute in net for WVU, saving 17 of the 23 shots she has faced over the course of seven games. She has earned a pair of shutouts and is allowing just 0.78 goals per game.

Foster and the defensive unit in front of her should be a good test for the Terriers offense before they enter Patriot League play.

“We [need] to play at the highest pace we can and force the other team to do so,” Feldman said. “If we can accumulate some pressure, we can come out and break them a little bit.”