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Sports
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Week of 12 September 1997 |
Vol. I, No. 3 |
Sports
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Last year's success a hard act to follow for field hockey teamGame Preview by Brian Fitzgerald A Sunday afternoon at Nickerson Field would normally interfere with a sports nut's professional football fare, but the much-ballyhooed Patriots-Jets game isn't until 8 p.m. -- leaving plenty of opportunity to watch the BU field hockey team's home opener September 14 at noon. Last year the Terriers won 17 games -- equaling the program's mark for most wins in a season. They captured the America East regular-season title, scored a school-record 89 goals, earned a trip to the NCAA tournament, and finished the season ranked 8th in the nation.
She points out that although this year's edition doesn't have two or three players to carry the team, "we have greater talent throughout the lineup." The goaltender position should be one of the Terriers' strong points as Noreen Flanagan (SAR'00) returns after earning America East Rookie of the Year honors last year. BU's iron woman, she played every minute of every game last season. On defense Flanagan will need help, but the Terriers were forced to put new players in three starting spots in the defensive backfield. On September 5 against American University Flanagan and the BU defense were able to shut the Eagles down during the first half, but two American goals in the second half made the game a nail-biter for the final five minutes. In BU's 7-1 loss to Old Dominion September 7 Flanagan faced an unbelievable 30 shots. Last year Boston University also lost to Old Dominion, but the score was 5-4 and it took the Monarchs an overtime period to escape Nickerson Field with a victory. Is this any indication of a possible BU letdown in 1997? Last year was the fifth season the Terriers made the NCAA tournament in Starr's 14 years of coaching BU in Division I field hockey -- but they've never made the tournament two years in a row. As with any sport, it takes a while to rebuild. But Starr sees a team that has the potential to eclipse last year's success. "Overall, we have greater athletic ability and team speed than we have had at any time in the past," she says. "We don't have as many proven scorers, but if we play better defensively, we won't need as many goals. With speed and talent, we should be able to convert our scoring opportunities with greater efficiency." The Terriers will certainly have to make the most of their scoring chances against 2-0 Maryland: the Terps' goaltender Alana Eliwatt has played more than 140 minutes this season and has yet to allow a goal. |
Athletes of the Week
Nick Bone and Chris Reno
On September 5 men's soccer cocaptain Nick Bone (SMG'98) saw something that he just couldn't resist. A ball cleared by teammate Sigurd Dalen (SMG'00) to midfield had two Northeastern defenders temporarily confused: who would handle it? Since neither player charged after it, Bone, a native of Newcastle, England, did just that, scoring a breakaway goal and the only tally of the game.
Also helping boost the Terriers to a 3-0 record and a number 13 national rank in the Soccer America poll was BU's defense, led by Chris Reno (CAS'98). The Worcester, Mass., native, who made the team in 1994 as a walk-on candidate, made a number of stops and helped Boston University limit Northeastern to just six shots.
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