Field Hockey to Host Lafayette Saturday on Senior Day
November 1, 2013 | Field Hockey
Nov. 1, 2013
BOSTON - The Boston University field hockey team will close out the regular season and honor its eight-member senior class when it welcomes Lafayette to New Balance Field for a conference game on Saturday (Nov. 2). The game, which will be broadcast on the Patriot League Network, will start at noon.
The Terriers (11-6, 4-1 Patriot League) have secured the No. 2 seed in next weekend's Patriot League Championship, which will be hosted by top-seeded American. The Leopards (6-10, 3-2 PL) have also earned a spot in the league tournament and will either be the No. 3 or 4 seed depending on Saturday's results. The Leopards have won the past two Patriot League titles.
Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between BU and Lafayette. Their common non-conference opponents this season were Connecticut and Delaware. Both teams fell to the Huskies, but the Terriers topped the Blue Hens, 2-1, while the Leopards lost to them by the same score.
Lafayette is coming off a 3-2 loss to No. 17 Temple on Sunday after earning back-to-back league wins against Holy Cross and Colgate. The Leopards' other victories this season have come against Central Michigan, Quinnipiac, Lehigh and Penn.
Junior Kelsey Mead, the reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, is tied for the team lead with 13 points on four goals and five assists. Classmate Brittany Blass also has 13 points this season, scoring five times and adding three assists.
In goal, junior Jessica Deutsch has started all but one game this fall and enters Saturday with a 2.07 goals-against average and a .619 save percentage.
The Terriers, who are looking to match their 12-win total from last season, had a three-game win streak snapped on Sunday in a hard-fought 3-1 loss to No. 8 Duke.
BU's top three point-scorers this season are underclassmen. Freshman Amanda Cassera has 16 points on eight goals and sophomore Sofi Laurito has put up 14 points on seven tallies. Freshman Hester van der Laan, who earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors on Monday, has added 13 points on four goals and five assists.
Junior goalkeeper Valentina Cerda Eimbcke has allowed more than one goal in just four games this season and boasts a 1.38 goals-against average and a .769 save percentage.
