Women’s Lacrosse: Terriers end season with loss to American

By Joe Eachus

Despite holding a four-goal lead at times amid a first-half offensive outburst, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team ended their season with a heartbreaking 16-12 loss to American at Nickerson Field on Friday afternoon.

The Terriers (2-15, 1-8 PL) conclude their worst season in program history on a low note, missing the conference tournament for the first time in a full season since they joined the Patriot League in 2013.

On a positive note, the team was able to hold Senior Day festivities for the first time since 2019.

“It was so nice, especially for the parents, to be able to enjoy the day and see their daughters, celebrate all of their hard work, I think was incredibly special,” BU head coach Lauren Morton said. “These seniors have had an incredibly challenging four years that they haven’t necessarily asked for. To be able to celebrate them was really special.”

For the Terriers, freshman attack Matty Spaeth led the way to cap off her sensational first collegiate season, notching her fifth hat trick of the year and ending the season on a three-game goal streak. Sophomore defense-turned-attack Ellen Monahan scored twice, and junior midfielder Lauren Kaye led BU with four points. Eight Terriers scored in the game.

Junior midfield-attack Jen Barry also broke the program record for draw controls, earning her 237th late in the third quarter.

American graduate attack Emma Vinall tied her career-high with nine goals in the contest on 10 shots on goal.

BU got off to a rocky start, letting up two unanswered goals to American to start things off, but quickly recovered with a 4-0 run of their own. The Terriers managed six goals in total during the first quarter, a season-high. Building an 8-4 lead with three minutes left to go in the second, the Eagles battled back to make it a one-goal game heading into the locker room at halftime.

“We’ve talked about it all year. … The way we’re capable of playing at that high standard all the time. I was really pleased [with the start.] The run they went on towards the end of the first half was when we had some of those lapses. We showed such brilliance in moments, which I was really happy to see, especially in the final game,” Morton noted.

A back-and-forth second half followed, featuring 4 lead changes and 3 ties. The Terriers seemingly ran out of gas down the stretch, allowing 6 Eagle goals in the fourth, including a 4-0 run late that sealed the game for American.

Morton also explained where things went wrong in the last frame.

“They definitely continued to put pressure on us, we just got undisciplined,” she said. “We fouled a little too much. That kind of combination is gonna be deadly, giving them more possessions. I don’t think we managed the ball really well.”

Congratulations to all of the seniors on their contributions during their time on Comm. Ave. as they played their last game in the scarlet and white.