Aug. 21, 2011

Box Score

Highlights | Postgame Comments

BOSTON - Backed by goals from sophomore Kylie Strom and senior Jessica Luscinski, the Boston University women's soccer team (1-0-1) defeated crosstown rival Northeastern (1-1-0), 2-0, on Sunday evening in the home opener at Nickerson Field.

The Terriers turned in a dominating performance, outshooting Northeastern, 19-2, with eight strikes on target. Luscinski led the way with six shots, while senior Brittany Heist had three and sophomores Madison Clemens, Jessica Morrow and Strom had two apiece. BU also maintained the 3-2 edge in corner kicks.

Strom tallied the game winner in the fifth minute when she capitalized on a flurry in front of the NU net, burying the ball off a rebound for her first goal of the season. Luscinski provided the Terriers with an insurance tally at 63:52, as she scored her second goal of the year off a restart just outside the 18-yard box.

Senior Alice Binns played all 90 minutes in net, making two saves, including a stop with one tick left on the scoreboard.

In the opening minutes of the match, Binns was forced to make an aggressive move off her line to prevent NU's Veronica Napoli from getting a shot off. Meanwhile, on BU's first offensive push in the fifth minute, Strom gave the Terriers a 1-0 lead when she scored off a rebound. In the play leading up to the goal, Luscinski sent in a long ball off a free kick, which Heist got a head on it, creating the scramble in front of the net.

In the second half, Morrow got the offense going, as she rocketed a shot from outside the 18-yard box that was headed straight for the left corner of the net before Paige Burnett soared to her right to punch it out of bounds.

NU's Victoria Tripoli recorded the Huskies' first shot of the game in the 57th minute, but her strike was saved by a leaping Binns.

Luscinski upped the advantage to two, as she scored for the second time in as many games on a restart outside the 18-yard box in the 64th minute. This time, she slotted the ball into the lower right corner of the net, far out of reach of goalkeeper Paige Burnett. She continued to apply pressure on the Huskies' defense with a handful of close shots, including a hard-hit ball to the lower right side that skimmed just wide of the net.

Meanwhile, the defense had its hands full with Veronica Napoli as she was a constant threat, making several dangerous runs in the box. However, the backline was anchored by seniors Katherine Donnelly and Lina Cords and they teamed together to keep the CAA preseason Player of the Year from scoring.

With the seconds winding down on the scoreboard, Northeastern made one last push, but Hanna Terry's last-second shot was easily saved by Binns to preserve the shutout.

BU returns to action on Friday (Aug. 26) when it hosts Illinois State at Nickerson Field at 7 p.m.

NOTES: Senior Jessica Luscinski now ranks seventh all-time at BU in career points with 60.