Women’s Soccer Hosts Home Opener Sunday

Jenna Fisher (SAR’16) was named to the 2015 Women’s Soccer Preseason All–Patriot League Team. Photos by BU Athletics

It was supposed to be another great year for the BU women’s soccer team. Not only were the Terriers coming off back-to-back Patriot League championships, but they had strong returning players, including 2015 Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year McKenzie Hollenbaugh (SHA’16) and last year’s leading scorer Jenna Fisher (SAR’16), along with the league’s dominant head coach, Nancy Feldman (265-118-37 all-time). But five games into the 2015 season, the Terriers find themselves winless. They hope to change that when they host Hofstra in their home opener on Sunday.

Despite her team’s early-season shortcomings (0-4-1), Feldman remains confident about the year’s prospects. “We’ve had a tough schedule,” she says. “Part of that is being away and part of that is the competition we’ve played. Which is what we always want to do. We want to put ourselves in a position to be tested early and really find out who we are, what we’re good at, and what we want to improve.”

One area the Terriers know they need to improve in is defense. BU has already given up nine goals this year—a far cry from the defense that allowed only 16 goals all last season. Still, there are signs of hope: the defense has yielded 1.6 goals per game, good for fifth in the Patriot League, while recording one shutout in the process.

“I think that since the start of the preseason, we’ve definitely come a long way,” says midfielder Clare Pleuler (SAR’16), echoing Feldman’s optimism. “We’ve taken a lot of positive steps, especially on the defense. As long as we keep playing as a cohesive team, we’re going to get the result. The key is maintaining that, throughout the team and the whole season.”

While the defense has picked up, the offense continues to struggle. The Terriers have scored two goals in their first five games, compared to eight in last season’s first five games. They are also last in the Patriot League in goals, points, and assists.

However, their matchup against Northeastern last Thursday showed cause for optimism. Despite a disappointing 2-1 overtime loss, the game was a bona fide dogfight, with BU forcing its second OT of the year and exhibiting a confidence that had been missing from earlier games. Despite the loss, players are taking the Northeastern game as a fundamental shift for the better.

“I think that game was a big turning point for us,” says Fisher. “Just playing through the whole game and trying to wear a team down I think is one of our strengths. There were a lot of positive performances out there, a lot of good things. Obviously, we didn’t get the result we wanted. But the results will come. We just have to be patient. We’re still trying to find our identity as a team, along with our ability to possess the ball.”

For her part, Feldman says she’s unfazed by the early-season speed bumps. “Our goals are the same,” she says. “We’re competing to win a Patriot League championship and that would then get us into NCAA play. From there, we’ll see where we can go. We need to take care of our business on Nickerson Field whenever we get back here. Taking it one game at a time, I don’t see why this won’t be our best year.”

The BU women’s soccer team takes on Hofstra University this Sunday, September 13, at 2 p.m. at Nickerson Field, 285 Babcock St. Tickets are $5 for the general public, $2 for faculty, staff, and students without a student sports pass, and free for students with a sports pass.

Emmanuel Gomez can be reached at mannygo@bu.edu.