Women’s Soccer: Terriers drop to Bucknell on Senior Day at Nickerson

By Bobby Serafin 

Boston University women’s soccer (9-7) (5-2 PL) took on Bucknell (8-5-2) (5-1-1 PL) for the Terriers’ senior day in front of a packed Nickerson Field on Saturday afternoon. An early goal made the difference as the Bison claimed a 1-0 win over the Terriers. 

The weekend loss cost the Terriers their top spot in the Patriot League standings, with Bucknell leaping ahead of them to take first place. 

“I don’t think it was our best performance and we know that,” BU Head Coach Casey Brown said. “You know, that’s what happens sometimes, so we’ll take it and we’ll learn from it and move forward.” 

The Terriers threatened within the first few minutes, with the ball finding leading scorers Morgan Fagan and Abigail McNulty early and often.

McNulty was especially dangerous, making darting runs and looking shifty on the ball. She nearly set up senior Amy Thompson on a cross from the left that was snatched by Bucknell keeper Jenna Hall. 

However, Bucknell didn’t take long to open the scoring, with sophomore Teresa Deda tallying the game’s lone goal at the 4:28 mark. After some interplay to get the ball into the Terriers’ defensive third, fellow sophomore Katie Schiano set up Deda who beat BU’s Celia Braun with a lofty long range for her second of the season. 

Bucknell could have doubled its lead just minutes later after a McNulty giveaway sent Rylee Donaldson away. However, sophomore Eileen Solmon and senior Ashley Buck made critical tackles to prevent the game from slipping away early. 

BU kept Bucknell at bay for the rest of the match, and each team recorded seven shots despite Bucknell posting nine corners compared to the Terriers’ six. 

“I think we kept a lot of their counters quiet, but [Bucknell] did a good job in the moments they got,” Brown said. “I think our team defended them really tough and I thought we were organized.”

The match marked the first time in five games that the Terriers failed to score a single goal.

“It wasn’t our best foot forward and I hope we can make the adjustments needed to tidy things up going forward,” Brown said.

While BU’s five game winning streak came to an end today, they’ll have a chance to start a new one as they head to Baltimore to take on Loyola Maryland on Saturday at 2 p.m.