November 7 was decision day for voters -- and for BU's and Rider University's field hockey teams. Unlike the presidential election, however, there was no doubt about the outcome of the competition at Nickerson Field. Rachel Stillings (CAS'02) and Jane Rogers (CAS'02) each scored two goals as the Terriers defeated the Broncs in a landslide, 6-1, earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

BU will play UMass-Amherst on Saturday, November 11, at the University of North Carolina. The winner will play against either UNC or Kent State the following day.

BU went to the big dance last year also, but this was expected after an undefeated season in America East. The Terriers, regular-season conference champions in ‘99, were the number one seed in last year's America East tournament. BU hosted the play-off games and swept its two opponents.

This year was a trickier campaign for BU. After a slow start -- 2-2 overall by mid-September -- the Terriers were second in the America East standings. Although New Hampshire was the regular-season champ with a 7-1 record, the NCAA requires an artificial turf field in the playoffs, so BU (6-2) had home-pitch advantage. In the first round, the Terriers faced an ice-cold Dela-ware team that had dropped its previous two games. A 2-1 BU victory brought the Terriers to another conference champion-ship game.

Waiting in the wings was New Hampshire, who had defeated BU earlier this year, 2-1, in a double-overtime heartbreaker October 11. But that was then, at New Hampshire, on natural grass. On November 4, in the tournament championship game, the Terriers had the Wildcats where they wanted them: at the Nick. Still, New Hampshire drew first blood, when America East Player of the Year Jessica Russell slammed a penalty corner shot past goalkeeper Susan Harrington (CAS'02) with 7:44 left in the first half.

Then Harrington, a Granite State native, shut New Hampshire down for the rest of the game with the help of a tight BU defense. New Hampshire mustered only 5 shots to BU's 19. "Susan's having a really good year," says Starr. "She has matured through the season and has gotten more confident. You need leadership from your goalie, and she's like the quarterback of the defense out there."

The Terrier offense took care of the rest. Kate Cusick (CAS'01), who played only seven games last year before tearing her anterior cruciate ligament, evened it up with 15:13 left in regulation. Christina Strauss (CGS'01), another player with limited experience last season (she redshirted the entire year), scored the winning goal with just 3:18 remaining. It was only her fifth goal of the season, but it was a big one.

"Our scoring is spread through-out the players," says Starr. "We don't have one dominant scorer. I think that's a tribute to the team. We're really starting to score, and different players have been picking it up in different games and getting the job done. I think the team energy and team chemistry are outstanding right now. We've been going hard since August, and we're still playing with a lot of passion. As a result, we've been playing some good hockey."