Women’s Soccer: Heartbreak in the Patriot League Final for BU

Featured Image by Troy Buldoc

By Finley Rogan 

Boston University Women’s Soccer (11-5-3, 7-1-1 PL) was defeated in the Patriot League Championship after losing to Army West Point (14-5-2, 5-3-1 PL) 3-2 at Nickerson Field Sunday afternoon.

“They have some really creative players in the attack, and they were on today,” BU Head Coach Megan Burke said.

It was a matchup of supreme importance, with not only the Patriot League title on the line but also a berth to the NCAA tournament hanging in the balance. 

The Terriers were in their home white uniforms with red lettering, while the Black Knights wore camouflage jerseys with black shorts. The two sides met earlier this season on Oct. 1, where BU won 3-2.

But this time, early disaster struck for the Terriers. In the fourth minute, Army forward Birgid Duffy — the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year — played a perfect ball through the BU line. Forward Sabrina Rogers picked up the pass and struck it into the net, putting the Black Knights ahead 1-0. The Terriers’ clean sheet record started and ended against the high-flying Army.

The Terriers quickly regrouped with a fluid attack, leading to the first BU corner of the game. Army defended the set piece with a simple clearance.

By the 15th minute, BU had found its footing. Although there were not any quality chances, the Terriers were beginning to look like the team that had tallied 40 goals this season. 

The rest of the first half followed a choppy formula — neither team was establishing great possession, and BU seemed to be one pass away on each attack. 

In the 32nd minute, BU found a breakthrough chance. Junior forward Samantha Aronson had her shot blocked but was able to make solid contact with the rebound. Army’s goalkeeper, Karalyn Dail, squandered the chance with a nice save.

In the 37th minute, Army pieced together some passes into BU’s half. Duffy, once again, made a good run in the box, where she flicked a pass over to forward Sophia Henry for the finish — a classic combination between the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year.

Army almost scored again with a tight-angle shot from Henry, but BU sophomore goalkeeper Bridget Carr made an acrobatic save to keep the deficit at two.

BU trailed 2-0 after one half of play, with the season on the line in the coming 45 minutes. The Terriers struggled to find their usual attacking rhythm in the first half, as Army consistently shut down every offensive push. 

The Terriers got a corner right off the bat in the second half, but it amounted to nothing. In the following five minutes, BU had multiple shot attempts, set pieces and corner kicks, but none resulted in a shot on target.

BU finally got on the scoresheet in the 57th minute. Senior midfielder Giulianna Gianino played a line-breaking pass to junior forward Ava Maguire, who was able to control it and finish the chance. 

The Terriers had all the momentum with more than 30 minutes left to play. Not only did BU get the monkey off their back — but it was also easily the best passage of play in the afternoon. The attacking fluidity had returned to the pitch.

Duffy and Gianino each had a shot on target following the BU goal, but neither could convert. The match was fully open, with each team playing long balls and moving quickly.

The Terriers continued to give everything they had. In the 66th minute, senior forward Margy Porta had a slew of touches in the box but could not get a shot past the Black Knights’ defense.

BU’s next quality chance came off a corner kick in the 73rd minute. Senior midfielder Mackenzie Stickelman rose for a header that sailed just over the crossbar. Less than a minute later, Maguire attempted a long shot that barely went over the net. 

Freshman midfielder Olivia Avellar had the next chance at being the hero. She attempted a whipping shot from outside the box, but Dail caught it, squandering the opportunity.

Army quickly followed with multiple excellent chances of their own — a shot off the crossbar, a clutch save and an eventual BU clearance amid the chaos in front of goal.

The relief did not last for BU. In the 81st minute, Duffy went on a powerful run, resulting in a perfect pass to Rogers, who converted the attempt with ease. This was Rogers’ second goal of the match and Duffy’s third assist.

However, BU was able to answer right back with a goal of its own. Thirty seconds after the match resumed play, Avellar rifled one into the Army net. BU was down 3-2 with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Following the goal, the Terriers struggled gaining possession again. Army, meanwhile, had begun their time-wasting tactics, hoping to bleed the clock all the way down to zero.

In the end, the Terriers could not find that elusive final chance. The game ended 3-2, and the BU season was officially over. Army, on the other hand, will continue to the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“In the second half, we had 14 shots. Sometimes, it’s just not your day, and those don’t fall,” Burke said. “We’ve had a lot of those days where they did fall this season, and so this, unfortunately, was just one of those unlucky ones.”

It was also the last BU game for multiple seniors, including Stickelman, Porta and Gianino.

“I said at the end of the game these seniors have given so much to this program on all sides of the ball and just off the field as well,” Burke said. “They’re unbelievable people. I’m so excited to see what they do outside of soccer and outside of college. But [I’m] just so grateful that our paths crossed and so proud of what they gave us.” 

BU won the regular season crown, but in the end, they could not get the job done when it mattered most.

“It’s hard when this game is something that sometimes looks like a summary of the season, and it’s really not,” Burke said. “Obviously, it stings now, but looking back, we’ll be hungry for more.”