Women’s Soccer: Terriers Keep Win Streak Against Lehigh
Featured Image by Jenny Chen
By Finley Rogan
Boston University Women’s Soccer (8-4-3, 5-1-1 PL) has now gone 477 minutes since last allowing a goal. That trend was on full display Saturday after the Terriers defeated the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (3-9-3, 1-5-1 PL) 4-0, turning in another clean sheet.
“It’s truly our identity at this point,” BU Head Coach Megan Burke said. “That’s a standard for us now, and we do not expect to let up anytime soon.”
For the first time in a while, the Terriers did not have the first quality chance of the match. Early in the game, Lehigh saw the ball bounce around the BU box, which caused sophomore goalkeeper Bridget Carr to go to ground. The Terriers quickly cleared the ball, but it was a chance BU had not been allowed in recent matches.
However, the unfamiliar play did not last long long. In the late 10th minute, senior midfielder Giulianna Gianino dispossessed a Lehigh defender, leading to a one-on-one with the Lehigh keeper. Gianino finished off the chance easily and put the Terriers up 1-0 with 35 minutes to go in the first half.
Following the goal, BU established themselves as the possessing side. Although they did not score again in the first half, the Terriers played with control and peppered shot attempts on Lehigh. After 45 minutes, BU led Lehigh 11-3 in shot attempts — but just 4-3 in shots on target.
In the 53rd minute, BU earned a corner and was taken by Gianino. The high, looping ball found the head of senior midfielder Mackenzie Stickelman, who buried it home with authority to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead. This marks the second consecutive match where BU scored off the first ball of a corner.
“It just shows that we are a threat,” Burke said of the corner-kick finishes. “We are doing a really good job of just losing defenders in that moment, but above all, just getting up and competing for it and that’s half the battle.”
The early second half avalanche continued for the Terriers with sophomore midfielder Olivia Avellar curling a shot into the net — assisted by Gianino. The back-to-back goals put the BU attacking firepower on full display.
Although the Terriers led most of the opening half, it was still evenly played. The opening 20 minutes of the second half flipped that script on its head, and the high-powered Terriers were back to their scoring ways.
As the minutes began to tick down on the match, Lehigh was generating numerous goalscoring opportunities — and the Terriers continued displaying their defensive strength.
Following the defensive period, BU got one last goal before time expired. A run down the left flank from freshman midfielder Georgia Prouty led to a cross into the feet of junior forward Samantha Anderson, who redirected the ball nicely into the back-netting. The Terriers now led 4-0, and the match would end with the same scoreline.
With an anticipated meeting with Colgate coming up, the Terriers now have six consecutive wins. Given both teams have already secured a first-round bye in the Patriot League Tournament, the game will determine the regular season champion and who gets home-field advantage throughout the tournament.
“We want to host, and we want to keep playing on Nickerson for as long as we can,” Burke said. “That’s kind of the mindset we just have going into the last regular season game.”
The match will be played this upcoming Wednesday in Boston at 6 p.m., with streaming available on ESPN+.