Terriers Open PL Title Defense Friday vs. Bucknell
November 5, 2015 | Field Hockey
| 2015 Patriot League Field Hockey Tournament | |
| Venue | New Balance Field | Boston, Mass. |
| Semifinals | Friday, Nov. 6 | #1 BU vs. #4 Bucknell | 11 a.m. |
| Friday, Nov. 6 | #2 American vs. #3 Lafayette | 2 p.m. | |
| Final | Saturday, Nov. 7 | 2 p.m. |
| Watch | Patriot League Network (online) |
| Live Stats | BU vs. Bucknell | American vs. Lafayette |
| @BUGameDay | @BU_FieldHockey | @PatriotLeague | |
Patriot League Tournament Preview
PL Videos w/ Starr, Laurito: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
BOSTON - Hosting the Patriot League tournament for the first time since joining the conference, the 14th-ranked and top-seeded Boston University field hockey team will take on Bucknell (8-10, 3-3 PL) in the semifinal round on Friday (Nov. 6) at 11 a.m. at New Balance Field.
Second-seeded American (11-6, 5-1 PL) will face No. 3-seed Lafayette (9-9, 3-3 PL) at 2 p.m. in the second semifinal. The two winners will meet on Sunday (Nov. 7) for the title at 2 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on the Patriot League Network.
The Terriers (12-6 overall) compiled a perfect 6-0 league record, outscoring opponents by a 32-5 margin along the way, to claim their first Patriot League regular-season title.
This will be the first time BU has hosted a conference tournament on campus since 2000, when it claimed the America East title at Nickerson Field. The Terriers hosted four straight America East tournaments at Jack Barry Field at MIT from 2004-07, winning each of the last three.
All three teams visiting New Balance Field this weekend have already been here this season, as they were BU's three home opponents in league play. The Terriers topped Lafayette, 3-1, on Sept. 19 to open the conference schedule before downing American, 5-3, on Oct. 3 in a match-up of the past two league champions. BU wrapped up their perfect record on Oct. 24 and clinched the regular-season crown with a 6-0 win over Bucknell.
BU is looking to successfully defend its 2014 Patriot League title, as the Terriers defeated the Bison, 2-1, on their own field in last year's title game to hoist the league trophy for the first time. The Terriers are 3-1 all-time in the PL tournament, including a 2-0 record in the semifinal round.
This will be the third straight year that the Terriers will face Bucknell in the conference tournament. In the 2013 semifinals at American, BU edged the Bison, 1-0, to advance to the championship match.
Bucknell is led by senior Kiersten Sydnor, who finished the regular season ranked first in the conference in both goals (14) and points (31). Freshman Nicole Rupnik ranks second on the Bison in points with 15 on the strength of seven goals.
Sydnor and junior back Anna Wills were named to the All-Patriot League First Team while junior Amy Mucelli and senior Kayla Sullivan - both midfielders - were second-team selections.
Since coming in at halftime of BU's 6-0 win two weeks ago, sophomore Emily Finn has taken over the goalkeeping starting job for the Bison and has a .706 save percentage to go along with a 1.94 goals-against average. Senior Shannon Keen has played over 70 percent of the minutes in goal and has a 2.77 GAA and a .571 save percentage.
The Terriers benefited from a balanced offensive attack throughout the regular season and have led by the duo of senior Sofi Laurito (11g, 3a) and junior Bea Baumberger Altirriba (5g, 14) with 25 and 24 points, respectively. Junior Hester van der Laan has 18 points on seven goals and four assists while four others have tallied more than 10 points. In all, BU has 10 players with three or more goals.
Senior back Rachel Coll has registered 15 points (5g, 5a) while anchoring a defense that has allowed just 1.94 goals per game.
Laurito was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year while Coll collected Defensive Player of the Year accolades. They were joined on the All-PL First Team by van der Laan. Junior strikers Amanda Cassera (5g, 2a) and Taylor Blood (4g, 3a) were second-team picks.
In goal, junior Cammy Jensen leads all conference netminders in goals-against average (1.91) and has a .635 save percentage.
