Field Hockey Terriers Host Yale Sunday

Remind any of BU’s field hockey players about their loss to defending Patriot League champion American University in last season’s title game and it’s clear that defeat is what’s driving them this year.

“Oh gosh!” exclaims Amanda Cassera (SAR’17). “That game—that game is what’s really fueling our fire.”

And from Hester van der Laan (ENG’17): “It motivates me a lot. I don’t want to beat anyone as bad as them.”

Last season, the Terriers made a strong impression during their first year in the Patriot League, advancing all the way to the league championship game before succumbing to American, 3-0. The team finished 2013 with a 13-7 record and performed particularly well against Patriot League opponents, with a 5-1 record. The Terriers’ only conference loss in the regular season was delivered by the same team that ended their season—American.

They begin conference play tomorrow against Lafayette in Pennsylvania, then come home to host Yale on Sunday at New Balance Field. And while they won’t travel to Washington, D.C., to play American until October 24, they know that if they hope  to make a run to the NCAA tournament, they’ll have to first exorcise their demons against a school that’s turning into a big-time conference rival.

“We’re not overlooking anybody,” Cassera says. “But we know American is in the back of our minds somewhere and we’re waiting for that game to come back, because I can almost promise that it will not be ending the way it did last year.”

The Terriers enter their 37th campaign with 14 returning players on a 19-player roster. Among the notable veterans are last season’s leading scorers, Cassera, the 2013 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, and Sofi Laurito (CGS’14, COM’16). Each scored eight goals in 2013.

“I’m pleased with Amanda’s progress,” says head coach Sally Starr. “Last year, she was a really good scorer, opportunistic around the goal mouth, but really not dangerous in the midfield. This year, she’s developed her elimination skills, she’s much more dangerous on the ball, and she’s very fast.”

The Terriers will also look to Hester van der Laan (ENG’17), a midfielder from the Netherlands, to build on her impressive rookie campaign, which saw her recording four goals and five assists.

“Hester’s like the Tazmanian devil,” Starr says with a grin. “She plays with so much energy. She’s a whirlwind of energy around the ball. She’s very skilled, plays at a fast tempo, and is very dangerous transitionally.”

Van der Laan, Cassera, and Laurito are off to promising starts this season. In the first five games, Cassera has scored three goals and van der Laan and Laurito each have two.

Despite individual successes, however, the team has been inconsistent so far, winning just two of the first five games. That said, two were overtime losses to tough competition—Northwestern and Boston College. The other loss was at the hands of number-eight ranked Stanford, which boasts one of the best field hockey programs in the country.

Starr says there’s an advantage to playing tough competitors early in the season. “We could be playing where we’re crushing teams right now,” she says, “but we wouldn’t know anything about ourselves. So I love playing tough teams, because they exploit our weaknesses, and it lets us know that we can play against teams like that.”

The Terriers begin Patriot League play tomorrow shorthanded. Katie Bernatchez (CAS’16) and Bea Baumberger (ENG’17) have both missed significant time this year because of injuries, which means that other players have had to play more minutes.

“We’re playing a lot longer,” says Cassera. “In 70-minute games, we’re playing 60 to 65 minutes. It’s definitely a change from last season, but I think we’ve adapted pretty well.”

Despite the large number of returning players, the team has only two seniors, Chrissy Toomey (SAR’15) and Valentina Cerda Eimbke (SMG’15). Cerda, who is from Chile, is team captain, but leadership roles have trickled downward to underclassmen.

“Val is definitely a leadership figure being a senior captain, but I guess that Rachel and I being vice captains means that leadership is not only limited to seniors,” says Laurito, referring to back Rachel Coll (SMG’16).

Of this year’s five new field hockey faces, one is more than familiar to Terrier fans: former BU women’s ice hockey standout goaltender Kerrin Sperry (CAS’13, GRS’16).

Sperry made 127 appearances in net for the Terriers over four years, stopping 92.2 percent of all shots faced and recording an impressive 85-34-8 record, with 13 shutouts. Now pursuing a master’s in international affairs and ineligible to play ice hockey a fifth year, she is making the transition from the ice rink to the field as a forward this season.

“I hope I can give the players the confidence to play at their potential,” Sperry says. “Everybody has a certain level they can reach, if only they have somebody that’s encouraging them and allows them to embrace their skills. I hope I can give them that kind of encouragement and be there for my teammates like I always am.”

The BU women’s field hockey team takes on Yale this Sunday, September 21, at 4 p.m. at New Balance Field, 286 Babcock St. The team will host Northeastern University at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 26, also at New Balance Field. All games are free and open to the public.

Andre Khatchaturian can be reached at andrekha@bu.edu.