Field Hockey: Season comes to a close in opening round of NCAA Tournament

By: Greg Levinsky

In an NCAA opening round game for the second-straight year, the Boston University field hockey team fell to Miami University on Wednesday at New Balance Field.

Ranked 22nd in the nation, the Terriers (12-8) fell behind 2-0 to the Red Hawks (16-6) on a pair of goals coming midway through the second half.

“I knew we were going to be in for a battle,” said BU head coach Sally Starr. “Miami’s an outstanding team. They’re really well coached and have some outstanding players on their team.”

Neither side recorded a shot on goal in the opening half, a testament to tremendous defense on both sides. Both of Miami’s shots on goal found the back of the cage, and the Terrier’s lone shot on goal was saved. The Terriers earned five penalty corners and limited the Red Hawks to zero.

“We did create our chances today,” Starr said. “We just weren’t able to break through.”

Mariona Heras scored the game’s first goal in the 54th minute, and Morgan Sturm scored 66 seconds later to double the Miami lead.

“Definitely two quick strikes for them,” Starr said.

Miami advances to play overall fourth-seeded Duke University on Friday (15-5) in the round of 16, the same team they fell to in the same game a season ago.

Greg Levinsky can be reached at glevinsk@bu.edu. Follow him on Twitter @GregLevinsky