Women’s Soccer: Terriers take down American for another 1-0 victory

By James Garrison

Boston University Women’s Soccer (8-6, 4-1 PL) traveled south to the nation’s capital, taking on American University (1-4-6, 0-3-2 PL) for their fifth Patriot League matchup of the season. Another strong defensive effort carried the Terriers to their fourth consecutive 1-0 victory. 

The Terriers’ winning streak is largely thanks to their team defense taking a large step up since the beginning of the year. With no goals conceded in their last four matches and only two total goals conceded in their last six, scoring has become somewhat of a premium against the Terriers. 

High physicality and low-scoring was the name of the game for the Terriers in the first half. 

“I think the power for us is in the collective,” Terriers Head Coach Casey Brown said. “We continue to have a really strong level of organization and discipline from the top down. I think today was another example of that.”

Headlining the first half was an injury to American senior midfielder Ashley Molz. After a rough collision at midfield, Molz was helped off the field, causing a significant delay in game play. 

Both sides would be unable to solve one another throughout the first half, and the Terriers headed to the locker room in a 0-0 stalemate. 

A single strike just over 13 minutes into the second half from sophomore forward Morgan Fagan was all the Terriers needed to collect their fourth Patriot League victory. Fagan’s fourth goal of the season tied redshirt senior forward Amy Thompson for the team lead in goals. 

“[Fagan] can really unbalance teams with her pace and her 1-v-1 ability,” Brown said. “We’ve had a number of players score and find success and that was Morg’s today, and I thought she was excellent in wide spaces.”

In the remainder of the game, American could not break through the Terriers’ defense. Closing out the game in familiar fashion, BU was able to subdue some of American’s last ditch efforts to find the equalizer.

With another victory decided after the 45-minute mark, the Terriers continue to become known as a second-half team. Five of BU’s eight wins have been decided by a second half goal.

“It was a hard fought match, glad to get the three points,” Brown said. “I think anytime you have a road conference game, it’s going to be a dogfight. Credit to a really tough American, I think they made it difficult for us.”

Still on the road but much closer to home, the Terriers will look to extend their four-game win streak this Wednesday in another Patriot League matchup against Holy Cross at 7 p.m.