Women Terriers Win Patriot League Championships
Soccer, cross country advance to NCAA tournaments
Women’s soccer head coach Nancy Feldman (from left) and tricaptains Kylie Strom (SMG’14), Emma Clark (CGS’12, COM’14), and Megan McGoldrick (COM’14) with the Patriot League championship trophy after the team’s 1-0 victory over Navy on Sunday. Photos courtesy of Patriot League
The BU women’s soccer team made an impressive impact in their inaugural season in the Patriot League, capturing the league championship Sunday at Annapolis, Md.
The Terriers defeated Navy 1-0, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. It was the latest in a long string of victories for the squad, which won 9 America East titles in 11 years, including 5 straight wins from 2007 to 2011.
The Terriers, currently ranked 25th in the nation, will take on Harvard in the first round of the NCAA tournament this Saturday, November 16, at Nickerson Field. They finished the season with a 14-3-4 overall record and an 8-1 mark in conference play.
BU advanced to the finals after defeating Colgate in a penalty shootout Friday evening, then managed to pull ahead of number one–seeded Navy when Patriot League Rookie of the Year Erica Kosienski (SAR’17) let loose a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar to sneak over the goal line late in the first half.
Goalkeeper Andrea Green (CAS’14) was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after posting yet another shutout. She earned a clean sheet in 9 of the Terriers’ 18 games this season and now leads the nation with a 0.30 goals against average.
“It’s great to prove we’re a winning team in more than one conference,” Green says. “I’m really excited to play in the NCAA tournament in my last year as a Terrier. Hopefully we can extend our season and go deep into the bracket, because I don’t think anyone is ready for it to be over just yet.”
The win by the women’s soccer team comes just over a week after the women’s cross country team became the first BU program to earn a Patriot League championship.
Five BU harriers finished in the top 25 at the Patriot League championships November 2 in Easton, Pa. Rosa Moriello (CGS’13, SMG’15) paced the field during the 6,000-meter race, coming in first by more than 40 seconds as the Terriers defeated second place Lehigh University by 10 points.
Moriello, who won the New England Championships last month, has been victorious in every event she has competed in this season. She earned Patriot League Runner of the Year honors after the race, and head coach Bruce Lehane was named Patriot League Coach of the Year after guiding the team to its 16th conference championship and first Patriot League title.
There had been high hopes that a third women’s program—field hockey—would also clinch a Patriot League title this past weekend. The second-seeded Terriers advanced to the championship after defeating Bucknell 1-0 in the semifinals on Friday afternoon, but fell 3-0 to top-seeded American University on Sunday in Washington, D.C.
“Obviously it’s disappointing to lose in the finals,” says head coach Sally Starr, “but I’m extremely proud of this team. With a new field, a new conference, and nine freshmen playing a prominent role, we were able to make strides over the course of the season and make it to the title game against a very talented American team. It’s tough for the seniors, who had an incredible end to their run, but I believe that we have a talented young group and I’m optimistic that we can compete for the conference championship next year.”
Cocaptains Madeleine Hackett (COM’14) and Ysi Schieb (SHA’14) and teammate Anne Fruitema (SHA’14) earned All-Patriot League honors and were named to the league’s All-Tournament Team. The field hockey team finished with a 13-7 record, 5-1 in conference play.
The women’s cross country Terriers will look to continue their success at the NCAA Northeast Regional on Friday, November 15, at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City.
The women’s soccer team will play Harvard in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday, November 16, at 3 p.m. at Nickerson Field.
Nate Weitzer can be reached at nweitzer@bu.edu.
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