Terriers To Meet UConn In First Round Of NCAA Tournament
November 10, 2003 | Women's Soccer
There is a combination of new and old for the Terrier women's soccer team, which will be playing the University of Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14, at Boston College.
The new comes from the Terriers' opponent, as this will be the first time B.U. will be playing the Huskies. However, it is not the first time the Terriers will be playing a BIG EAST team. In fact, in their last appearance in the NCAAs, the Terriers lost to Rutgers, 4-1, in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
The old comes from where the game will be played on Friday, as the Terriers are familiar with the Boston College venue. In fact, B.U. opened its 2003 season there with a 3-1 loss to the Eagles on August 31st.
The old can also refer to the familiarity the Terriers have enjoyed with playing in the NCAAs. In fact, this is the third time in four years that B.U. will be playing in the national tournament.
In 2000, the Terriers defeated Holy Cross, 1-0, in the first game of the tournament. They then traveled to Dartmouth where they were eliminated, 4-1. Then, in 2001, the Terriers returned to the NCAAs where they lost to Rutgers, 4-1, in the opening game.
Senior Emily Dionne (Rockland, MA) has started in all three of those games, while Rebecca Beyer (Kansas City, MO) came off the bench to score the game-winning goal against Holy Cross and then started against Dartmouth in 2000 and Rutgers in 2001.
"Certainly it would be more glorious to be getting on a plane and traveling somewhere," said Terrier head coach Nancy Feldman. "But, I think it is much better and easier for everyone to be playing so close to home. Our players will be able to sleep in their own beds each night, it's a short trip to go there to practice, and our fans will be able to go to the game. The familiarity of our playing at BC shrinks down the factors that will be unfamiliar to us.
"I think it's a very winnable bracket for us," the coach continued. "There is no (top-seeded) North Carolina, (fifth-seeded) Penn State, or Santa Clara. I do know that UConn will be a very difficult opponent for us. They lost in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament, and they will be fired up."
Connecticut comes into the tournament with an overall record of 10-5-3 and a 5-1-0 mark in the BIG EAST. Offensively, they are led by Kristen Graczyk, who was voted the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year. In 18 games this season, she had 14 goals and 37 points. She was particularly effective in conference games, as she led the BIG EAST in goals (9), assists (6), points (24) and game-winners (4) in league games only.
Freshman Meghan Schnur, who finished the season with 4 goals and 8 assists for 16 points in 17 games, was named the BIG EAST Co-Rookie of the Year.
The Huskies, who have outscored their opponents, 40-16, this season, have an excellent goalkeeper in Erin Rice. She has been the keeper of record in all 18 games and has an 0.92 goals against average and an .807 save percentage to go along with her 10-5-3 record.
In the other first-round matchup on Friday, Boston College, which enters the tournament with a 15-2-3 record and the number-15 seed, will take on Central Connecticut, which also boasts a 15-2-3 record. That game is scheduled to get underway at 6:30 p.m.
The two winners on Friday will be on Sunday at Boston College.
