Terriers, Huskies Clash Saturday Afternoon in NCAA First Round
November 14, 2014 | Women's Soccer
Watch on PLN | Game Notes | Gametracker | @BUGameDay | NCAA Bracket
BOSTON - The Patriot League champion Boston University women's soccer team will host CAA champion Northeastern in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Nickerson Field. First kick is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The ticket office at Gate 2 of Nickerson Field will open at 1 p.m. Tickets are $4 for youths and students with ID and $8 for adults. The first 100 BU students with ID will receive free admission to the game.This will be the third time in the last four years that BU (14-4-3) has hosted an NCAA tournament tilt, having defeated Harvard at home in the first round of both the 2011 tournament and the 2013 tournament. The Terriers kept a clean sheet in both contests, including a 1-0 victory last season.
BU and Northeastern have met 15 times entering Saturday, with the Terriers holding an 11-3-1 record over the Huskies. NU earned a 1-0 win at Nickerson Field this season, but prior to the match-up, the Terriers took the last two meetings with Northeastern. In 2011, BU bested the Huskies, 2-0, before posting a 3-0 win over NU in 2012. This will be the first time BU and Northeastern have met in the postseason since the 2004 campaign, the Huskies' final season in the America East.
Sophomore Erica Kosienski was the Terriers' leading scorer in last year's tournament, scoring the game-winner against Harvard and assisting on the team's lone goal in the second round against Santa Clara. Ana Cuffia is the only other current Terrier to score an NCAA tournament goal, as she notched one in the 2011 victory over Harvard. BU has scored in three of its last four NCAA contests.
The Terriers earned an automatic berth into the national tournament thanks to a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Colgate in the Patriot League title game. Senior goalkeeper Alyssa Parisi made seven saves and her only blemish came on a Colgate penalty kick. She also stopped four shots in the semifinal victory over Navy. Senior Kai Miller led a stellar Terrier backline and was named the tournament's most valuable player. Junior Clare Pleuler scored both game-winning goals on the weekend while Cuffia opened the championship game with a goal.
A balanced attack has been a key for the Terriers this season, as BU boasts 17 players with at least one point recorded so far this season. Five different players have at least 10 points, led by junior Jenna Fisher and her 17 (7g, 3a). Ten different Terriers have found the back of the net, with nine of those players doing so multiple times this season. Fisher leads the team with seven, followed by Cuffia, Kosienski, senior Taylor Krebs and junior Clare Pleuler with four each. Cuffia and senior Jamie Turchi each lead the Terriers with four assists.
Northeastern (14-4-3), the CAA Champion, is making its third NCAA tournament appearance and second in the last two seasons. The Huskies hosted the CAA tournament and coasted to the conference title, defeating fourth-seeded William & Mary, 4-0, in the semifinals before earning a 2-0 win over third-seeded Hofstra in the championship game.
Freshman Hannah Lopiccolo leads the team in points with 16 and is tied for the team lead with four assists. She is second behind sophomore MacKenzie Dowd (7 goals) with six of her own. Senior goalkeeper Paige Burnett has started all 21 of the Huskies' games this season and has posted a 0.27 goals-against average and an .878 save percentage. She has kept 15 clean sheets in 2014.
The winner of Saturday's game will face either top-seeded Florida State or South Alabama on Friday, Nov. 21 at a location to be determined.
