Women’s Lacrosse: Terrier Comeback over Holy Cross falls short

By Joe Eachus

Despite outscoring their opponent by an 11-3 margin in the second half, Boston University Women’s Lacrosse (6-4, 1-3 PL) suffered their second straight loss to Holy Cross (4-7, 1-2 PL) Wednesday evening at Nickerson Field.

The loss was also the Terriers’ fourth in their last five contests, as they have struggled in conference play following a strong start to the season.

“Obviously, our second half was significantly better [than the first half], we were really flat,” BU Head Coach Lauren Morton said. “Early on in the game, we put ourselves in too big of a hole.”

It was a tale of two halves for BU. The Terriers got out to a 2-1 lead early on, but allowed the Crusaders to score 13 straight across the rest of the first half to find themselves down 12 goals at the midway point.

Goaltending was a major discrepancy between the two teams, with Holy Cross freshman MacKenzie Creagh making 14 saves on 27 shots in her first collegiate start, while the BU tandem of junior Reilly Agres and senior Arielle Hammer combined for just two saves on 19 shots.

“Our goalies have both been super reliable,” Morton said, “but this was obviously not their best game. I also think we didn’t help ourselves with finishing our shots, even when the goalies don’t have the best day. I thought their goalie had a great day, and that’s definitely one of the big difference makers between the two teams.”

The comeback attempt began less than a minute into the third quarter as freshman midfielder Jayne Feeney found the back of the net for her second goal of the game. She completed the hat trick just 81 seconds later to bring BU within 10.

“[Feeney] wants to win. There’s such a will to win, and she’s willing to do everything she can to put the team on her back. She’s such an intense player, which is so fun to watch. She was good to have on the field at the end of the game, and as she continues to get more experience, it’ll be better and better,” Morton said.

Feeney led all players with four goals in the game, three of which came in the second half.

Into the final frame, the comeback effort from the Terriers continued, ending the game on a ten-minute 6-0 run, but it was ultimately not enough to overcome their sluggish first half.

“We’ve got to get back to doing what we’re able to do and what’s in our control. As we head into another quick turnaround, being able to start the game with an intensity and play the way we know we’re capable of for a full four quarters,” Morton noted.

BU will be back in action with a visit to Lafayette to take on the Leopards on Saturday, with opening draw scheduled for 12 PM.