No. 10 Terriers Host Massachusetts to Kick Off 2009 Campaign
February 24, 2009 | Women's Lacrosse
Feb. 24, 2009
BOSTON - The four-time defending America East champion Boston University lacrosse team opens its 2009 campaign hosting in-state foe Massachusetts (0-2) on Wednesday (Feb. 25) at 4 p.m. at Nickerson Field. The Terriers open the season ranked 10th in the nation and have won their last nine games at Nickerson Field.
Live video will be available for all home games this season through BU All-Access, while WTBU Radio will broadcast the game and GameTracker live stats will be available as well.
The Terriers, preseason favorites to repeat as America East champions, are ranked 10th in the nation in the IWLCA coaches poll and 11th in the Inside Lacrosse media poll.
BU is 5-10 (.333) in the all-time series with Massachusetts that dates back to BU's first season of lacrosse in 1980. The Minutewomen have opened the Terriers' schedule for each of the last five seasons and the road team has won the last three meetings.
Massachusetts already has two games under its belt, but is still seeking its first win after opening the season on Feb. 17 with an 11-7 loss at Holy Cross and falling at then-No. 6 Maryland, 16-4, on Saturday.
Senior Holly Drown is the Minutewomen's early scoring leader with three goals and an assist over the first two games, while junior Merritt Cosgrove has chipped in three goals as well.
With no returning goalkeepers on the UMass roster, freshman Katie Florence has taken on the starting netminder's role, tallying a 13.50 goals-against average and .357 save percentage thus far.
The Terriers are led by a quartet of veteran captains in senior attacker Steph Walker, midfielder Sarah Dalton, defender Kelly Munroe and junior goalkeeper Rachel Klein.
Dalton, who earned first-team All-American honors last season and was named the America East Player of the Year, set a BU record with 71 goals last season and enters the season ranked sixth among BU's all-time leading scorers with 182 career points.
Klein, in her first season as the starting goalie last season, made a program-record 181 saves and became only the second netminder in school history to tally 18 wins in a season (joining current assistant coach Anne Sheridan).
Munroe is a first-team all-conference and all-region honoree who, along with Dalton, was selected to the US Lacrosse Developmental Team. She was the Most Outstanding Player of last year's America East Championship.
Walker notched 26 points, including 21 goals, on the attack last season as she continued to increase her scoring impact each season.
