Field Hockey: Terriers edged out 6-7 by New Hampshire at home

Featured Image by Jenny Chen

By Jenny Chen

In their 50th all-time meeting, the Boston University Field Hockey (4-5, 1-1 PL) dropped to the University of New Hampshire (4-4) 7-6 at home on Sept. 28.

The Terrier offense began from the first whistle, as the team earned two penalty corners in the first three minutes. Junior midfielder Nicole Lauro capitalized on the second of these corners, in the third minute, tipping up a shot from senior forward Caroline O’Brien.

“We haven’t taken advantage of the redirects, and we’ve really been focused on where our tippers are positioning,” BU Head Coach Sally Starr said post-game. “We’ve been working on it, and it’s great to finally get the goals.”

The Wildcats responded quickly and in swift transition as junior midfielder Louette Petie equalized in the sixth minute.

New Hampshire then found their first lead of the game through a scramble and series of unsuccessful clears before freshman Emily Coughlin got the last touch that sent the ball into the goal.

Continuing their accuracy on penalty corners, Lauro, again, deflected the ball into the net on BU’s third penalty corner of the game in the 13th minute. This time, the shot was from junior defender Alex Purcell.

In the 14th minute, junior midfielder Maggie Driscoll kept the penalty corner effectiveness rolling as she scored her first collegiate goal off of the Terrier’s next penalty corner.

It did not take long for the Wildcats to respond, as they scored the only goal of the second period. Senior forward Nicole Poulakis rushed toward the net on one of UNH’s penalty corners to capitalize.

Though even in scoring at the halfway mark, BU led the shot count 12-9.

At the start of the second half, O’Brien finished off a rush from freshman Delfi Coulo in the 34th minute to give the Terriers the lead.

“She’s in the right place at the right time, making really good decisions on the ball, and as a result, she’s scoring, she’s getting assists, and she’s creating opportunities for us where she may not even be directly involved in the play, but she created the play by how she was pressing,” Starr said.

On the next shot of the game, however, Wildcats’ Poulakis had the answer, again, for her team.

In a series of breakaways by New Hampshire from BU, the Wildcats’ lead grew to 6-4 with sophomore Faye Meijer and junior midfielder Kathelijne Knuttel finding the back of the net in the 37th and 42nd minutes, respectively. 

The Terriers were not done yet and came back with two more goals of their own. O’Brien scored her second of the game in the 47th minute, tapping in a shot off a rebounded save from New Hampshire sophomore goalkeeper Abby Johnson. Junior defender Bella Bergner got back the ball after inserting it for a penalty corner and shot it in for her first collegiate goal in the 54th minute.

UNH had the final say on the game’s outcome, as in the 58th minute, Poulakis completed her hat-trick.

BU returns to Patriot League play on Oct. 4 by traveling to Lehigh kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m.