Women’s Lacrosse Advances to Patriot League Semis
Terriers face Navy today in Baltimore
Following Tuesday’s decisive 18-8 win over Bucknell in the Patriot League quarterfinal round at Nickerson Field, the women’s lacrosse team has advanced to the semifinals and will take on Navy today, in Baltimore. The Terrier women (10-7, 6-3 PL) head into today’s game having won four of their last five contests. A win against Navy would put them within striking distance of capturing their first Patriot League title.
“Bucknell is a good team that had a very good year, and they came out strong and really battled,” says head coach Liz Robertshaw. “Once our team settled in in the second half, we played our style, which is fast pace, run and gun, and really aggressive on 50-50 balls.”
The teams entered the second half of Tuesday’s game tied at six apiece, but an overwhelming surge of offense propelled the Terriers into the semifinal round with the help of five goals from Mallory Collins (CGS’14, MET’16) and five points (4 goals, 1 assist) from Mickenzie Larivee (CAS’18).
Midfielder Jill Horka (CGS’14, SAR’16), who was recently named to the Patriot League First Team, matched a BU single game record for draw controls Tuesday, with 13, to pace the Terrier offense. Robertshaw says that a dominant possession controller like Horka allows the team to take more chances on the offensive end.
“If we’re down by a goal with 10 seconds left, we have confidence that Jill can get the draw control, fast break, and score,” says Robertshaw. “So it allows me to be a little more aggressive in my play calling for the attacking unit.”
The next challenge for the Terriers is a tough one—a rematch against second-seeded Navy, who handily beat the team 12-6 on April 16. It will be crucial for the Terrier women to jump off to a fast start during today’s game, as they were held scoreless in the first half of their earlier matchup with Navy before playing them evenly 6-6 in the second stanza.
“It’s important to push the fast break right from the beginning,” says Collins. “We came out really slow last time against Navy, and they capitalized on that.”
The women’s lacrosse team takes on Navy today, Friday, May 6, in the Patriot League semifinal at 7:40 p.m. at Loyola University’s Ridley Athletic Complex, 2221 W. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, Md. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children 14 and under and can be purchased at the Loyola Athletics website. The Patriot League championship game is Sunday, May 8, at noon, also at Loyola.
Josh Gutchess can be reached at jgutch12@bu.edu.
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