Women’s Lacrosse Advances to NCAA Quarterfinals
Sarah Dalton (CGS’07, CAS’09) matches career high with six goals
The number 6/7 Boston University lacrosse team broke open a second-half deadlock by scoring the game’s final 8 goals to post a 16-8 victory over number 13 New Hampshire in the first round of the NCAA tournament on May 11 at Nickerson Field. Sarah Dalton (CGS’07, CAS’09) matched a career high with six goals, including four in the late run, to help the Terriers advance to the quarterfinal round for just the second time in the history of the program.
The seventh-seeded Terriers will travel to face second-seeded Penn — a 16-7 winner over Colgate — in a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday, May 17. With the win, BU improves to 18-2 on the year, tying the school record for victories set in 2005, and extends its program-record win streak to 15 games. UNH ends its season with a record of 13-6.
Steph Walker (CGS’07, COM’09) turned in a strong performance, matching career bests in both goals (3) and points (4). Xan Weitzel (CGS’08) had two goals and two assists, while Lauren Morton (CAS’08) and Traci Landy (CGS’08) each recorded a pair of goals and an assist.
UNH got two-goal performances from junior Sarah Von Bargen, senior Ashley Crook, and senior Maureen Wark.
Goalkeeper Rachel Klein (CAS’10) made seven saves for the Terriers, while senior Ashley Milley made four stops in goal for the Wildcats.
The conference rivals had met twice during the regular season, with the Terriers claiming a one-goal win on both occasions. With the teams tied or separated by a single goal for 40 of the game’s first 42 minutes of play, it appeared likely that Sunday’s contest would also come down to the wire.
After the teams played deadlocked defense for the opening 10 minutes, Crook netted the ball to give the Wildcats a 1-0 advantage. Weitzel answered back with 14:32 remaining in the first half, taking a pass on the left side of goal from Alyssa Kovach (SMG’11) off a free-position opportunity and slotting it home. Dalton gave the Terriers their first lead with 13:59 left in the half, but New Hampshire responded with three consecutive goals.
The teams traded blows throughout the remainder of the first stanza, with BU netting the final two goals of the half to head into the break tied at 5-5.
The second half opened with the same pace, as both sides played tight defense and traded goals. Dalton broke the 8-8 tie with 19:14 left in regulation off a feed from Weitzel and gave the Terriers their first multigoal lead less than two minutes later.
Walker followed suit with back-to-back goals that came nine minutes apart before Dalton capped her day with consecutive goals once again, resulting in a 14-8 lead with 4:54 to play. Morton and Landy tacked on the final two goals of the run to seal the victory.
The BU defense helped the team to an advantage in ground balls, collecting 16 to New Hampshire’s 9. The Terriers also outshot the Wildcats 31-17, but fell short in draw controls, losing the battle 15-11. Cocaptain Molly Collins (CAS’08) owned five of BU’s draw controls and also snatched up three ground balls and caused four turnovers.
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