Women’s Soccer: Heilferty spearheads Terriers in Nancy Feldman’s 300th career victory
BOSTON, MA – BU women’s soccer continued its winning ways against Holy Cross on Wednesday, emerging victorious by a score of 3-0. The Terriers improved to 3-7-2 on the year and 2-0-1 in the Patriot League, while the Crusaders dropped to 3-7-0 (1-2-0 in PL).
The victory was especially historic in lieu of its title as Nancy Feldman’s 300th triumph at the helm of the team. During her 24 years as head coach, Feldman has transformed a once-modest organization into a Patriot League powerhouse. She now owns a prolific 300-150-46 record all-time.
Sophomore star Anna Heilferty proved unstoppable in the match, scoring two goals on six shot attempts. She maneuvered past a defender on the left side to find net in the 23rd minute, and converted a header off service from Libby Closson early in the second period. Senior forward McKenna Doyle kept up the assault by nailing a shot home in the 57th minute.
BU continually displayed offensive intensity, particularly in the second half. After taking six shots in the first 45 minutes, they came out of halftime and proceeded to launch 12 attempts. Holy Cross did not get a chance until the 32nd minute, and were outshot by the Terriers 18-8 overall. Freshman goalkeeper Morgan Messner played most of the game in net for BU and saved two tries, while junior Emma Heil added a save of her own in the closing minutes.
Heilferty deservedly took home the Turnpike Trophy MVP award for her performance. She is up to five goals on the season, placing her in a tie for third in the Patriot League. The sophomore also leads the conference in shot attempts and ranks third in points. After winning Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Heilferty looks to be building her case for regular season recognition.
The Terriers struggled to apply pressure in last week’s hard-fought win versus Lehigh. By contrast, this game showed a confident, hungry squad that is ready to carry momentum through the rest of conference play. Besides Heilferty’s six shots, five other Terriers launched attacks at the Crusader net. The change in energy level between the two games was stark.
With the victory, BU reestablished its dominance of Holy Cross. The Terrier women have outscored the Crusaders 16-1 since joining the Patriot League in 2013. Since the inception of the Turnpike Trophy in 2016, Boston University has won 63 of 72 inter-sport clashes. They started the 2018-19 series strongly once more after Wednesday’s result.
BU next returns to Nickerson Field on Saturday to face off against the Leopards of Lafayette College. The latter is currently 4-6-0 (1-2-0 in Patriot League) and just lost against Army. However, they do boast senior standout Alex Stanford, who scored five goals in just two games earlier this fall.
The match kicks off at 1 p.m.