Field Hockey: Terriers defeat Holy Cross 3-2 in exciting comeback at home

By: Riley Lackey

Boston University Field Hockey (5-4, 2-1 PL) had an exciting 3-2 victory against the Holy Cross Crusaders (4-6, 0-3 PL) on Friday afternoon at New Balance Field. Although the Terriers struggled throughout the game, they came back for a thrilling fourth quarter to secure the victory.

This Turnpike Trophy matchup was BU Head Coach Sally Starr’s 500th win as a coach for the Terriers.

“It was very emotional… I got teary, it just hit me. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to be here at BU as long as I have and to get the 500 wins,” Starr said in a post-game interview.

In the first quarter, BU and the Crusaders were evenly matched. Play went back and forth down the field until Holy Cross had a close scoring opportunity with seven minutes left in the quarter, but goalkeeper graduate student Kate Thomason made a stellar save, fending off the Crusader offense.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Terriers came into the second fired up, immediately putting pressure on Holy Cross.

However, Crusader senior forward Meggan Fourie was able to put the ball in BU’s net five minutes into the second quarter. This gave Holy Cross momentum to keep the ball on the Terrier’s half.

The Crusaders had more golden opportunities in front of the net but to no avail. Holy Cross led BU in shots 7-4 heading into the half.

Despite four shots in the third quarter, the Terriers could not beat freshman goalkeeper Mia McCloskey. The freshman standout has started in net for the Crusaders all season.

On their third penalty corner of the game, senior forward Payton Anderson had a strong shot that was stopped blocker side by McCloskey.

With a minute left in the quarter, the ball stayed in the middle of the field with some strong back-and-forth competition. Both teams fought hard, but Holy Cross held their 1-0 lead at the end of the third.

Heading into the last quarter of the game, BU was looking for the equalizer.

Chaos ensued around the Terrier net when the Crusaders drew their first penalty corner 30 seconds into the fourth, but Thomason stood tall and kept her team within one.

With just under 11 minutes left in regulation, junior midfielder Martu Coulo showed off her moves, dribbling through the Holy Cross defense and setting up an opportunity for junior midfielder Natalie Epperson, who tipped the ball in high, getting BU right back into the game.

On a green card to Crusader senior Grace Donahue, the Terriers found the back of the net to take the lead. Anderson fired a shot off the right post, where sophomore forward Nicole Lauro was perfectly set up to tip the ball in to secure her first of the season.

Just two minutes later, another penalty corner set up Epperson for her second of the night and gave BU a two-goal lead with time winding down.

The game was far from over when Terrier senior Katie Devine was given a yellow card, and Holy Cross was awarded a penalty stroke. Fourie scored her second of the night on the play, bringing the Crusaders back within one. With less than a minute left, Holy Cross brought a lot of pressure as they attempted to tie up the game, but BU held strong for the win.

Ending the game 3-2, the Terriers improved their conference record to 2-1 and have now won in back-to-back games.

“In the second half I really felt like we were controlling the game, we were getting turnovers, we changed our press around a little bit… getting circle entries, and just playing really good hockey,” Starr said.

The Terriers look to continue their win streak when they face off against the No. 9 Harvard Crimson for an afternoon matchup on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+, live from Berylson Field in Allston, MA.