Women’s soccer ties American, 1-1, in Patriot League opener

BOSTON, MA  –  Having gone scoreless over the last two weeks, the Boston University women’s soccer team needed a breakthrough.

The Terriers (1-7-2) received just that on Sunday in Washington D.C., as sophomore Anna Heilferty scored to lead her team to a 1-1 tie against American in their Patriot League opener.

Heilferty ripped five shots on goal over the course of the afternoon and found paydirt in the eighth minute of the first half. Last year’s conference Rookie of the Year gathered a perfectly placed through ball from senior Chelsea Churchill and hammered it past American goalkeeper Ryleigh Brown for her third goal of the season. The tally arrived after the Eagles came out in the first half with a vengeance, with Patriot League leading scorer Yari Bradfield tucking a penalty kick inside the left post just 58 seconds into the match.

Heilferty’s goal was Brown’s only mistake all day. The sophomore keeper made a career-high 15 saves to preserve the tie as the Terriers dominated American in shots, 25-8.

BU goalkeeper Amanda Fay made only three stops, with all of them coming after the decisive first eight minutes of the game.

Following Heilferty’s equalizer, neither team could garner a lead. Senior McKenna Doyle took four shots—three coming on goal—while Churchill took three shots. Junior Ann Marie Jaworski added two shots as well, but could not get one past the brick wall that was Brown.

The Terriers now receive some well deserved rest, with their next contest coming at home against Lehigh at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. They finished 0-1-2 on their three-game road trip.